103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB3237

 

Introduced 2/6/2024, by Sen. Christopher Belt

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 230/5-5
105 ILCS 230/5-15

    Amends the School Construction Law. In provisions concerning grant award amounts and required local matches, provides that the required local match and grant award amount are calculated by multiplying the required local match percentage and the grant award percentage by the recognized project cost, provided that, for the first application in which an applicant is funded (instead of only during the first application cycle after June 30, 2022), the amounts may be adjusted. Provides that to receive an adjustment, a school district on the 2004, 2005, or 2006 School Construction Grant List must initially apply and be approved during the first 3 application cycles after June 30, 2024. Makes a conforming change. Effective immediately.


LRB103 37777 RJT 67906 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3237LRB103 37777 RJT 67906 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The School Construction Law is amended by
5changing Sections 5-5 and 5-15 as follows:
 
6    (105 ILCS 230/5-5)
7    Sec. 5-5. Definitions. As used in this Article:
8    "Conditional grant award" means the formal notification by
9the Capital Development Board to a school district of its
10conditional intent to award a grant to a school district to pay
11a portion of the recognized project cost for a school
12construction project. The grant award is conditioned upon
13receiving proof from the school district that it has funds
14available to cover the cost of the required local match.
15    "Grant award amount" means an amount equal to the
16recognized project cost determined by the Capital Development
17Board for a school construction project multiplied by the
18grant award percentage and then adjusted as may be required
19pursuant to subsection (d) of Section 5-15.
20    "Grant award percentage" means a percentage equal to one
21minus the required local match percentage.
22    "Grant index" means a figure for each school district
23equal to one minus the ratio of the district's equalized

 

 

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1assessed valuation per pupil in average daily attendance to
2the equalized assessed valuation per pupil in average daily
3attendance of the district located at the 90th percentile for
4all districts of the same category. This definition applies
5only to completed or partially completed, as determined by the
6Capital Development Board, school construction projects for
7which a grant application was filed for the 2004, 2005, or 2006
8application cycle by a school district included on the State
9Board of Education's 2004, 2005, or 2006 School Construction
10Project Application Cycle listing and only for the purpose of
11determining the amount of any adjustment pursuant to
12subsection (d) of Section 5-15 to a grant award amount for a
13project funded during the first application cycle opened after
14June 30, 2022. For the purpose of calculating the grant index,
15school districts are grouped into 2 categories, Category I and
16Category II. Category I consists of elementary and unit school
17districts. The equalized assessed valuation per pupil in
18average daily attendance of each school district in Category I
19shall be computed using its grades kindergarten through 8
20average daily attendance figure. A unit school district's
21Category I grant index shall be used for projects or portions
22of projects constructed for elementary school pupils. Category
23II consists of high school and unit school districts. The
24equalized assessed valuation per pupil in average daily
25attendance of each school district in Category II shall be
26computed using its grades 9 through 12 average daily

 

 

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1attendance figure. A unit school district's Category II grant
2index shall be used for projects or portions of projects
3constructed for high school pupils. The changes made by this
4amendatory Act of the 92nd General Assembly apply to all
5grants made on or after the effective date of this amendatory
6Act, provided that for grants not yet made on the effective
7date of this amendatory Act but made in fiscal year 2001 and
8for grants made in fiscal year 2002, the grant index for a
9school district shall be the greater of (i) the grant index as
10calculated under this Law on or after the effective date of
11this amendatory Act or (ii) the grant index as calculated
12under this Law before the effective date of this amendatory
13Act. The grant index shall be no less than 0.35 and no greater
14than 0.75 for each district; provided that the grant index for
15districts whose equalized assessed valuation per pupil in
16average daily attendance is at the 99th percentile and above
17for all districts of the same type shall be 0.00.
18    The grant index shall be calculated for each of those
19school districts forming a reorganized school district or
20cooperative high school if one or more of the following happen
21within the current or prior 2 fiscal years:
22        (1) a new school district is created in accordance
23    with Article 11E of the School Code;
24        (2) an existing school district annexes all of the
25    territory of one or more entire other school districts in
26    accordance with Article 7 of the School Code; or

 

 

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1        (3) a cooperative high school is formed in accordance
2    with Section 10-22.22c of the School Code.
3The average grant index of those school districts shall be
4used as the grant index for the newly reorganized district or
5cooperative high school.
6    "Recognized project cost" means the total project cost for
7a school construction project determined by the Capital
8Development Board to be taken into account in calculating the
9grant award amount and the required local match for a school
10construction project.
11    "Required local match" means an amount equal to the
12product of the recognized project cost determined by the
13Capital Development Board multiplied by a school district's
14required local match percentage, and then adjusted as may be
15required pursuant to Section 5-15.
16    "Required local match percentage" means a percentage equal
17to a school district's Local Capacity Percentage, as defined
18in Section 18-8.15 of the School Code, and as calculated by the
19State Superintendent of Education in the fiscal year in which
20the school district applies for a grant to be awarded pursuant
21to this Article, provided that the required local match
22percentage shall be no less than 10% and no greater than 90%
23for any district. With respect to a Type 40 area vocational
24center cooperative, a special education cooperative, or a
25cooperative high school, the required local match percentage
26is calculated by first multiplying each cooperative member

 

 

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1district's average student enrollment utilized to calculate
2its latest Evidence-Based Funding, as defined in Section
318-8.15 of the School Code, by the respective district's
4latest Local Capacity Percentage, as defined in Section
518-8.15 of the School Code, to obtain a weighted average
6student enrollment. Then, the required local match percentage
7is calculated by taking the sum of all the member districts'
8weighted average student enrollment and dividing that sum by
9the sum of all the member districts' average student
10enrollment utilized to calculate the latest Evidence-Based
11Funding.
12    "School construction project" means the acquisition,
13development, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation,
14improvement, architectural planning, and installation of
15capital facilities consisting of buildings, structures,
16durable equipment, and land for educational purposes.
17    "School district" means a school district or a Type 40
18area vocational center or special education cooperative that
19is jointly owned, if the joint agreement includes language
20that specifies how the debt obligation is to be paid,
21including in the event that an entity withdraws from the joint
22agreement.
23    "School district" includes a cooperative high school, if
24the cooperative agreement includes language that specifies how
25the debt obligation is to be paid, including if an entity
26withdraws from the cooperative agreement or the cooperative

 

 

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1agreement is terminated.
2    "School maintenance project" means a project, other than a
3school construction project, intended to provide for the
4maintenance or upkeep of buildings or structures for
5educational purposes, but does not include ongoing operational
6costs.
7(Source: P.A. 102-723, eff. 5-6-22.)
 
8    (105 ILCS 230/5-15)
9    Sec. 5-15. Grant award amounts and required local match.
10    (a) After June 30, 2022, any time there is an
11appropriation of funds by the General Assembly from the School
12Infrastructure Fund or School Construction Fund and a release
13of the appropriated funds to the Capital Development Board for
14expenditure on grant awards pursuant to the provisions of this
15Article, the State Board of Education is authorized to open an
16application cycle to receive grant applications from school
17districts for school construction projects. No grant
18application filed before the start of the first application
19cycle after June 30, 2022 may be considered. After the close of
20each application cycle, the State Board of Education shall
21determine the approval of applications, the required local
22match percentage for each approved application, and the
23priority order for school construction project grants to be
24made by the Capital Development Board and shall then notify
25all applicants regarding their eligibility for a grant. Such

 

 

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1notification shall include an estimate of the required local
2match. The State Board of Education shall publish a list of
3applicants eligible for grants and forward it to the Capital
4Development Board.
5    (b) The Capital Development Board, to the extent that
6appropriated funds have been released and proceeding through
7the list of eligible applicants in the order of priority
8determined by the State Board of Education, shall issue
9conditional grant awards to eligible school districts. An
10applicant that does not receive a conditional grant award
11notification must submit a new application during another
12application cycle in order to receive future consideration for
13a grant award.
14    (c) The conditional grant award certifies to a school
15district the recognized project costs for its school
16construction project determined by the Capital Development
17Board, the applicable required local match percentage and
18grant award percentage, the required local match and grant
19award amount calculated by multiplying the required local
20match percentage and the grant award percentage by the
21recognized project cost, and the required local match and
22grant award amount as those amounts may be adjusted as
23required in subsection (d).
24    (d) The required local match and grant award amount are
25calculated by multiplying the required local match percentage
26and the grant award percentage by the recognized project cost,

 

 

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1provided that, for the first application in which an applicant
2is funded only during the first application cycle after June
330, 2022, these amounts may be adjusted if the applicant had
4previously expended funds on a school construction project on
5the 2004, 2005, or 2006 School Construction Grant List. In
6that case, the required local match shall be reduced (but not
7below zero) and the grant award amount shall be increased (to
8an amount no greater than the recognized project cost) by an
9amount determined by the Capital Development Board to be equal
10to the amount of the grant the applicant would have received
11pursuant to Section 5-35 had it been awarded a grant in 2004,
122005, or 2006 based on the 2004, 2005, or 2006 School
13Construction Grant List and the year in which the school
14district applied for the grant. To receive an adjustment under
15this subsection (d), a school district on the 2004, 2005, or
162006 School Construction Grant List must initially apply and
17be approved during the first 3 application cycles after June
1830, 2024.
19    (e) A school district shall have 2 years from the date the
20school district was issued a conditional grant award from the
21Capital Development Board to obtain the school district's
22required local match and receive a final grant award from the
23Capital Development Board. If the required local match is not
24obtained within the 2-year time frame, the school district
25shall be required to reapply in another application cycle,
26after the 2-year time frame, to be considered for a grant

 

 

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1award. The State share of the grant amount in a conditional
2grant award that is not claimed by a school district within the
32-year time frame shall be reallocated to future application
4cycles after the 2-year time frame expires.
5(Source: P.A. 102-723, eff. 5-6-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)
 
6    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.