schools; building renewal
monies; accounting
HB 2077 requires school districts to provide a detailed account of building renewal monies for a project before the School Facilities Board may distribute additional monies for the same project.
The Building Renewal Fund (Fund) was established as part of Students FIRST (Fair and Immediate Resources for Students Today) during a special session of the Arizona Legislature in 1998. The Fund is established consisting of monies appropriated by the Legislature and monies credited to the Fund by the State Treasurer pursuant to A.R.S. section 42-5030.01. Monies in the Fund are administered by the School Facilities Board (SFB), and are distributed to school districts for the purpose of maintaining the adequacy of existing school facilities. Statute provides a formula to be used to determine the amount of building renewal funds for each school building. The main components used in the formula are the square footage, age, renovations and student capacity of the building.
School districts must use building renewal monies primarily for any buildings owned by the school district that are required to meet academic standards and secondly for any other buildings owned by the school district. Monies may be expended for any of the following:
1. Major renovations and repairs of a building.
2. Upgrading systems and areas that will maintain or extend the useful life of the building.
3. Infrastructure costs.
4. Relocation and placement of portable and modular buildings.
Statute specifies six items that building renewal monies cannot be used for.