OAR 581-020-0200: School Facility Improvement Grants

(1) Any school district, which for purposes of this rule includes a common or union high school district, an education service district or any combination thereof, may apply for a School Facility Improvement Grant to construct or maintain public school facilities. No school district may submit more than one application on behalf of the individual school district and one application in conjunction with other school districts. (2) Grant applications shall be submitted to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction by May 31. The application shall state: (a) The specific purpose of the grant which may include, for new or existing facilities: (A) Land acquisition; (B) Planning and design; (C) Construction; (D) Remodeling; (E) Reduction of energy consumption; (F) Alternation; (G) Furnishing and equipping; (H) Repair; (I) Replacement; and (J) Other capital maintenance, but shall not include cleaning. (b) The need for the construction or maintenance, including documentation of applicable factors such as: (A) Age of the facility for which maintenance or construction is proposed; (B) The degree of overcrowding; (C) The absence of facilities necessary to accomplish the educational goals of the district and state; (D) Deterioration of existing facilities which has the potential of affecting the health and safety of students; (E) Damage or destruction of existing facilities due to natural disaster; (F) Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; and (G) How the construction or maintenance will facilitate implementation of the educational goals of House Bill 3565 enacted by the 1991 Legislative Assembly. (c) The amount requested and how the grant monies, if awarded, shall be matched with local funds. Grants shall be matched by at least one local dollar from the grant applicant for every four state dollars; (d) The time period when the grant funds will be needed, including a statement of any detrimental effect that may be caused by delay; or in the alternative, a statement that the time period is flexible. (3) Grants shall not exceed $500,000 in any biennium to any school district. (4) In addition, a combination of districts may submit a joint grant application in an amount not to exceed $500,000. (5) A district or combination thereof may apply in subsequent bienniums for additional grants for the same facility. (6) Grants will be screened on the following criteria: (a) Age of the school facilities; (b) Degree of overcrowding; (c) Potential student health and safety concerns due to deterioration of school facilities or natural disasters; (d) Reduction of energy consumption; and (e) The need for additional, new, replacement, or updated facilities in order to: (A) Comply with the American with Disabilities Act; or (B) Accomplish educational goals for the district and state, specifically the goals set forth in HB 3565. (7) In the event that meritorious grant applications exceed the amount of grant funds available, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall place all of the applications, which contain the information required under section (2) of this rule and which are judged meritorious by the criteria set forth in section (6) of this rule, in a pool from which applications will be selected on a random basis. Applications shall be ranked in order of their selection and grants shall be awarded in numerical order up to a total of $5 million. (8) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall award School Facility Improvement Grants from funds appropriated to the School Facility Improvement Fund subject to availability of funding. If the amount of funding is less than $5 million, grant awards will be reduced on a pro rata basis. Notification of grant awards shall be made within 45 days after the closing date for grant applications. (9) The decision of the Superintendent shall be final.