Sponsored by:
Senator ANTHONY M. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Directs Commissioner of Education to establish criteria and make recommendations on designation of school districts as SDA districts.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning SDA districts and amending and supplementing P.L.2000, c.72.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 3 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-3) is amended to read as follows:
3. As used in sections 1 through 30 and 57 through 71 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-1 et al.) and sections 14 through 17 of P.L.2007, c.137 (C.18A:7G-45 through C.18A:7G-48), unless the context clearly requires a different meaning:
"Area cost allowance" means $138 per square foot for the school year 2000-2001 and shall be inflated by an appropriate cost index for the 2001-2002 school year. For the 2002-2003 school year and subsequent school years, the area cost allowance shall be established by the commissioner pursuant to subsection h. of section 4 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-4). The area cost allowance used in determining preliminary eligible costs of school facilities projects shall be that of the year of application for approval of the project;
"Capital maintenance project" means a school facilities project intended to extend the useful life of a school facility, including up-grades and replacements of building systems, such as structure, enclosure, mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems;
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Education;
"Core curriculum content standards" means the standards established pursuant to the provisions of subsection a. of section 4 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-46);
"Cost index" means the average annual increase, expressed as a decimal, in actual construction cost factors for the New York City and Philadelphia areas during the second fiscal year preceding the budget year as determined pursuant to regulations promulgated by the development authority pursuant to section 26 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-26);
"Debt service" means and includes payments of principal and interest upon school bonds issued to finance the acquisition of school sites and the purchase or construction of school facilities, additions to school facilities, or the reconstruction, remodeling, alteration, modernization, renovation or repair of school facilities, including furnishings, equipment, architect fees and the costs of issuance of such obligations and shall include payments of principal and interest upon school bonds heretofore issued to fund or refund such obligations, and upon municipal bonds and other obligations which the commissioner approves as having been issued for such purposes. Debt service pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1978, c.74 (C.18A:58-33.22 et seq.), P.L.1971, c.10 (C.18A:58-33.6 et seq.) and P.L.1968, c.177 (C.18A:58-33.2 et seq.) is excluded;
"Demonstration project" means a school facilities project selected by the State Treasurer for construction by a redevelopment entity pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-6);
"Development authority" means the New Jersey Schools Development Authority established pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2007, c.137 (C.52:18A-237);
"District" means a local or regional school district established pursuant to chapter 8 or chapter 13 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, a county special services school district established pursuant to article 8 of chapter 46 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, a county vocational school district established pursuant to article 3 of chapter 54 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, and a district under full State intervention pursuant to P.L.1987, c.399 (C.18A:7A-34 et al.);
"District aid percentage" means the number expressed as a percentage derived from dividing the district's equalization aid calculated pursuant to section 11 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-53) as of the date of the commissioner's determination of preliminary eligible costs by the district's adequacy budget calculated pursuant to section 9 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-51) as of the date of the commissioner's determination of preliminary eligible costs;
"Excess costs" means the additional costs, if any, which shall be borne by the district, of a school facilities project which result from design factors that are not required to meet the facilities efficiency standards and not approved pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection g. of section 5 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-5) or are not authorized as community design features included in final eligible costs pursuant to subsection c. of section 6 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-6);
"Facilities efficiency standards" means the standards developed by the commissioner pursuant to subsection h. of section 4 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-4);
"Final eligible costs" means for school facilities projects to be constructed by the development authority, the final eligible costs of the school facilities project as determined by the commissioner, in consultation with the development authority, pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-5); for demonstration projects, the final eligible costs of the project as determined by the commissioner and reviewed by the development authority which may include the cost of community design features determined by the commissioner to be an integral part of the school facility and which do not exceed the facilities efficiency standards, and which were reviewed by the development authority and approved by the State Treasurer pursuant to section 6 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-6); and for districts other than SDA districts, final eligible costs as determined pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection h. of section 5 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-5);
"Financing authority" means the New Jersey Economic Development Authority established pursuant to P.L.1974, c.80 (C.34:1B-1 et seq.);
"FTE" means a full-time equivalent student which shall be calculated as follows: each student in grades 1 through 12 shall be counted at 100% of the actual count of students, in the case of districts which operate a half-day kindergarten program each kindergarten student shall be counted at 50% of the actual count of kindergarten students, in the case of districts which operate a full-day kindergarten program or which currently operate a half-day kindergarten program but propose to build facilities to house a full-day kindergarten program each kindergarten student shall be counted at 100% of the actual count of kindergarten students, and each preschool student who is enrolled in a full-day preschool program pursuant to section 12 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-54) shall be counted at 100% of the actual count of preschool students. In addition, each preschool disabled child who is entitled to receive a full-time program pursuant to N.J.S.18A:46-6 shall be counted at 100% of the actual count of these students in the district;
"Functional capacity" means the number of students that can be housed in a building in order to have sufficient space for it to be educationally adequate for the delivery of programs and services necessary for student achievement of the core curriculum content standards. Functional capacity is determined by dividing the existing gross square footage of a school building by the minimum area allowance per FTE student pursuant to subsection b. of section 8 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-8) for the grade level students contained therein. The difference between the projected enrollment determined pursuant to subsection a. of section 8 of P.L.2000, c.7