New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 6A - EDUCATION › Chapter 26 - EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES › Subchapter 3 - CAPITAL PROJECT REVIEW › Section 6A:26-3.7 - Local support of school facilities projects

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) No school
				facilities project shall be constructed unless local support, if any, plus
				other local revenue sources utilized to fund the total costs of a school
				facilities project receiving State debt service aid has received approval as
				set forth in this section. School districts shall notify the Commissioner and
				executive county superintendent when approval is obtained, and, if applicable,
				provide each the schedule for issuance of school bonds. School districts shall
				also notify the executive county superintendent of the issuance of school bonds
				within 30 days of their issuance.
(b) If the Development Authority is
				constructing the school facilities project, the school district shall provide
				to the Development Authority funds for 100 percent of the ineli-gible costs of
				the project in accordance with the rules of the Development
				Authority.
(c) If the school
				district determines to issue school bonds to fund all or any part of the local
				support, the school district shall proceed in accordance with (e), (f), or (g)
				below, as applicable. If the school district determines to fund the entire
				local support through a means other than school bonds, it shall obtain approval
				of necessary line-items in the budget, obtain separate voter or
				board-of-school-estimate approval of the expenditure of local support, make
				withdrawals from capital reserve in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-14. A
				school district may fund the local support for additions or improvements to an
				existing school facility or equipment through a lease-purchase agreement not in
				excess of five years' duration if the school district obtains approval of the
				lease-purchase agreement in accordance with
				18A:20-4.2(f) 
				and N.J.A.C. 6A:26-10.
(d) If a
				school district submits to voters a separate proposal for local funding for a
				non-referendum capital project pursuant to
				18A:7F-5 and
				6A:23A-8.4, such amounts shall not
				be utilized as the local share or to reduce the total costs of a school
				facilities project receiving State debt service aid of a school facilities
				project.
(e) Whenever the district
				board of education in a Type I or Type II school district having a board of
				school estimate determines it is necessary to sell school bonds to raise money
				for the local support for any school facilities project approved pursuant to
				EFCFA and these regulations, it shall estimate by resolution the amount
				necessary to be raised for school facilities project(s) and itemizing the
				estimate to make it readily understandable. The secretary of the district board
				of education shall certify to each member of the school district's board of
				school estimate a copy of the resolution. The resolution shall include the
				amount needed to be raised by school bonds; the final eligible costs of the
				school facilities project as approved by the Commissioner; the total costs; the
				State share or State debt-service-aid percentage; the local share, if
				applicable; and the excess costs, if applicable. If the district board of
				education determines to use a combination of school bonds and other revenue
				sources, the resolution shall also include the portion of the local share or
				total costs of a school facilities project receiving State debt service aid to
				be raised through other revenue sources, listing separately each source and the
				amount from it. Gifts, grants, other private sources, and municipal surplus
				shall also be listed but only for the informational purposes of evidencing
				their portion of total costs and not for authorizing their use.
(f) Whenever a school facilities project(s)
				to be paid for from school bond proceeds is submitted to the voters of a Type
				II school district an annual or special school election for their approval or
				disapproval, the district board of education shall frame and adopt the
				question(s) to be submitted so each school facilities project is submitted as a
				separate question, or so all or any number of them are submitted in one
				question, which shall state the school facilities project(s) submitted and the
				amounts to be raised for each of the school facilities projects separately
				submitted or for each or all of the school facilities projects jointly
				submitted, as the case may be, but any proposal for land purchase shall be
				sufficient to authorize the taking and condemning of the land. If the district
				board of education determines to use a combination of school bonds and other
				revenue sources, the question shall also include the portion of the local share
				or total costs of a school facilities project receiving State debt service aid
				to be raised through other revenue sources, listing separately each source and
				the amount from it. Gifts, grants, private sources, and municipal surplus shall
				also be listed but only for informational purposes of evidencing their portion
				of total costs and not for authorizing their use.
1. If the school facilities project is to be
				constructed by the Development Authority or a redevelopment entity, or by the
				school district with a grant pursuant to
				18A:7G-15, the single-question
				referendum shall request approval for the local share and shall disclose the
				amount needed to be raised by school bonds, the final eligible costs of the
				school facilities project as approved by the Commissioner, the State share, the
				total costs, and the excess costs, if any.
2. If the school facilities project is not to
				be constructed by the Development Authority or a redevelopment entity or by the
				school district with a grant pursuant to
				18A:7G-15, the single-question
				referendum shall request approval for the total costs of the school facilities
				project, disclose the amount needed to be raised by school bonds, the State
				debt-service-aid percentage, the final eligible costs, and the excess costs, if
				any.
i. The State debt-service-aid percentage
				shall be stated as a percentage of the annual debt service of the final
				eligible costs.
3. When
				a school facilities project is framed in more than one question, the
				explanatory statement accompanying the questions shall include a summary that
				lists the total costs of the project; the State share or the State
				debt-service-aid percentage; the final eligible costs of the project; the local
				share, if applicable; excess costs; and the revenue source for the local share
				or total costs of a school facilities project receiving State debt service
				aid.
4. The statement of excess
				costs in any ballot question and in any explanatory statement that accompanies
				a ballot question shall describe the excess costs as follows: "This school
				facilities project includes [insert amount) for school facility construction
				elements in addition to the facilities efficiency standards developed by the
				Commissioner of Education, or that are not otherwise eligible for State support
				pursuant to
				18A:7G-5(g) 
				".