NH Rev Stat § 198:15-b (2021)
2021 New Hampshire Revised Statutes|Title XV - Education|Title 198 - School Money|Section 198:15-b - Amount of Grant.

    198:15-b Amount of Grant. –||I. (a)(1) For construction authorized by a school district on or before July 1, 2013, the amount of the annual grant to any school district duly organized, any city maintaining a school department within its corporate organization, any cooperative school district as defined in RSA 195:1, any receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, or any receiving district providing an education to pupils from one or more sending districts under a contract entered into pursuant to RSA 194:21-a or RSA 194:22, shall be a sum equal to 30 percent of the amount of the annual payment of principal on all outstanding borrowings of the school district, city, cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district, heretofore or hereafter incurred, for the cost of construction or purchase of school buildings and school administrative unit facilities, or for the cost of acquiring, developing, or renovating any municipally-owned land, buildings, or facilities to be used for school district purposes, to the extent approved by the department of education, provided that any school district may receive an annual grant in the amount of 40 percent for the construction of an educational administration building for a school administrative unit, and provided that the amount of the annual grant in the case of a cooperative school district, a joint maintenance agreement, a receiving district operating an area school, or any receiving district providing an education to pupils from one or more sending districts under a contract entered into pursuant to RSA 194:21-a or RSA 194:22, shall be 40 percent plus 5 percent for each pre-existing district in excess of 2 and each sending district in excess of one, and provided further that no cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district operating an area school, shall receive an annual grant in excess of 55 percent.||(2)(A) For construction authorized by a school district after July 1, 2013, school building aid grants for new construction shall not exceed the state appropriation for school building aid for the fiscal year, less any debt service payments due and owing in the fiscal year for construction or renovation projects approved in a prior fiscal year, less the amount owed for construction or renovation projects approved prior to July 1, 2013 in accordance with subparagraph (a)(1), unless otherwise provided by an act of the general court. School building aid grants approved pursuant to RSA 198:15-u through RSA 198:15-w, shall be disbursed to school districts pursuant to this subparagraph and no state bonds shall be authorized or issued for the purpose of funding school building aid grants. The amount of the grant to any school district duly organized, any city maintaining a school department within its corporate organization, any cooperative school district as defined in RSA 195:1, any receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, or any receiving district providing an education to pupils from one or more sending districts under a contract entered into pursuant to RSA 194:21-a or RSA 194:22, shall be calculated based on the criteria set forth in RSA 198:15-v.||(B) The state board of education shall approve the disbursement of 80 percent of the eligible grant amount upon approval of the application for school building aid grants by the state board of education, and shall disburse the balance of the grant amount upon completion of the construction and verification of the final cost of construction by the department of education.||(C) The amount of the grant to any chartered public school established in accordance with RSA 194-B:3-a shall be 30 percent of the eligible cost of construction.||(D) Any state aid for leased space pursuant to RSA 198:15-hh shall require a separate appropriation, and shall not be included in the state appropriation for school building aid.||(E) Funds received from charitable trusts, bequests, gifts, insurance policies, federal grants, or grants from other state programs shall be subtracted from total project costs when computing grants under this paragraph.||(b) For any municipally-owned land, buildings, or facilities for which a school building aid grant is granted under this subdivision, the following shall apply:||(1) A school district, a city maintaining a school department within its corporate organization, a cooperative school district as defined in RSA 195:1, a receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, or a receiving district providing an education to pupils from one or more sending districts under a contract entered into pursuant to RSA 194:21-a or RSA 194:22, shall have first priority in the use of such land, buildings, or facilities for 10 years or the life of any bond or note issued to provide funds for such land, buildings, or facilities, whichever is greater.||(2) A school district, a city maintaining a school department within its corporate organization, a cooperative school district as defined in RSA 195:1, a receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, or a receiving district providing an education to pupils from one or more sending districts under a contract entered into pursuant to RSA 194:21-a or RSA 194:22, shall submit, when applying for aid under this chapter, the least costly building plan based on a 20-year life cycle cost analysis that meets minimum state building standards in this chapter along with any alternative plans that may be proposed.||(3) In the absence of a bond or note or upon the expiration of any bond or note issued to provide funds for land, buildings, or facilities, the principal parties shall enter into an agreement on how such land, buildings, or facilities are to be used.||I-a. (a) In addition to the requirements of paragraph I, each school district, prior to receipt of any grant moneys, shall submit for review and approval a written maintenance plan describing in detail how the school district intends to maintain the new facilities to be constructed with state aid grant moneys. The required maintenance plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:||(b) A description of the procedures to be used, and the method of staffing in which, the following building services are or will be provided. For work performed by in-house staff, an indication of the staffing level shall be provided, expressed as full-time equivalent positions:||(1) Daily facility cleaning.||(2) Grounds maintenance.||(3) Refuse removal.||(4) Snow removal.||(5) Minor maintenance and repair.||(6) Pest management.||(7) Periodic equipment servicing and preventive maintenance.||(8) Plan for 12 month operations, if applicable.||(c) The average amount of space, in square feet, assigned to each custodian for daily cleaning.||(d) The process for reporting, recording, verifying, and prioritizing building problems and fire safety issues.||(e) The process for assigning corrective work.||(f) The process for determining that corrective work has solved the problem.||(g) The process for tracking and analyzing recurring problems.||(h) The process for scheduling and completing preventive maintenance services and inspections on installed equipment and major building systems including, but not limited to heating, ventilation, air conditioning, life safety, elevators, plumbing, roofs, windows, doors, and kitchen appliances.||(i) Custodial or maintenance staff increases or reductions that result from the project.||(j) The training program for employees on new equipment to be installed by the project.||(k) A statement of assurance, signed by the chair of the school board, which indicates that the district intends to maintain and service all installed equipment according to the manufacturer's instructions.||(l) A 20-year maintenance plan that identifies and defines the program and activities necessary to achieve the design life expectancy of the building. Such program shall include activities having to do with scheduled repairs, upkeep, minor alterations, and enhancements of the building. The maintenance plan shall also consider preventive maintenance supporting building systems and components.||II. For the purposes of this subdivision, "construction" shall include any one or more of the following for the construction of instructional facilities only:||(a) The acquisition and development of a site.||(b) Planning, construction, or both, of a new building.||(c) Planning, construction, or both, of additions to existing buildings.||(d) Architectural and engineering fees.||(e) Purchase of equipment and any other costs necessary for the completion of a building as approved by the department of education.||(f) Substantial renovations approved by the commissioner of education.||(g) Purchase or lease-purchase of mechanical, structural, or electrical equipment, including the cost of installation of such equipment, which is designed to improve energy efficiency or indoor air quality in school buildings. All grant amounts awarded under this subparagraph shall be returned to the state if such equipment is removed from the school building by the vendor due to the school district's failure to comply with the terms of the lease-purchase agreement. Lease-purchase agreements shall be subject to the requirements of RSA 33:7-e.||III. Purchase of school buildings shall include the acquisition and improvement of land in connection therewith and the remodeling, altering, repairing, equipping and furnishing of such buildings as approved by the department of education.||IV. In this paragraph, "new construction" means additional square footage but shall not mean the renovation of school buildings. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply to any school building aid grants made pursuant to RSA 198:15-a through RSA 198:15-w.||(a) The department of education shall issue annually maximum eligible cost standards for the construction of new school buildings, less site acquisition costs, qualifying for a school building aid grant. These standards shall take into account the type, size, and location of the school and shall be based on an appropriate construction cost index developed or adopted by the department which shall reflect cost differences in the several regions of the state. Maximum cost standards shall be computed and published annually and expressed as a maximum cost per square foot.||(b) Maximum size standards for new construction shall be as follows:||(1) Maximum gross square footage per pupil:||Student Population| under 250 250 and over| | Elementary school 144 120| | Middle or junior high school 168 140| | Senior high school (excluding vocational-technical centers) 192 160| |||(2) Maximum usable site size for new schools:|| Elementary School 20 acres plus 1 acre for each 100 pupils| Middle or junior high school 25 acres plus 1 acre for each 100 pupils| Senior high school 30 acres plus 1 acre for each 100 pupils| |||(3) In addition to the provisions of subparagraphs (1) and (2), the department of education shall require architectural designs for new space in order to make efficient use of space. Space determined by the department to be excessive or unnecessary to fulfill educational needs shall not be eligible for state building aid grants.||(c) For the purpose of calculating the total school building aid grants made under RSA 198:15-a through RSA 198:15-w, the final approved cost for school construction or school project shall not exceed the cost that would result if the project conformed to the maximum cost and size standards. The provisions of this section shall not preclude an eligible applicant from exceeding the maximum standards provided, however, the cost of the portion of the facilities which exceed the maximum standards shall not be eligible for school building aid grants. The maximum cost and size standards in effect at the time general contract work begins shall be used for the purposes of determining school building aid grants.||(d) The commissioner of the department of education shall have the authority to waive eligible cost and size standards for new construction for good reason shown.||V. For the purpose of receiving grants under this section, acquisition of additional land as part of any school renovation project shall not be required unless such additional land is necessary to ensure the safe flow of traffic for school buses or other vehicles entering or exiting school grounds, or the safe boarding or discharge of children using school buses or other vehicles.|||Source. 1955, 335:9, par. 14-b. 1957, 301:1. 1963, 277:3. 1965, 150:2. 1967, 362:4; 399:1; 449:3. 1969, 347:4. 1971, 452:1. 1975, 447:1. 1979, 208:1; 459:4. 1981, 568:84. 1983, 469:63, 148, 149. 1998, 214:1. 2000, 215:2, 3. 2003, 296:3, 4; 306:1. 2004, 124:1. 2005, 180:2; 208:1, 2; 228:1. 2006, 131:1, eff. May 19, 2006. 2010, 327:2, eff. Sept. 18, 2010. 2012, 275:2, eff. Aug. 18, 2012. 2013, 226:2, eff. Sept. 13, 2013 at 12:01 a.m.; 239:1, eff. Sept. 13, 2013.|