Since the passage of SB 50 in 1998, the School Facility Program (SFP) has grown more complex and multi-faceted. Opportunities exist to eliminate redundancies and streamline the state oversight and approval process, thereby reducing complexity and making it easier for school districts to access state support for school facilities. It is important to preserve the core state functions, which are rooted in ensuring student safety and equitable access to educationally appropriate facilities.
CASH recommends shifting where possible to a reliance on local authority and responsibility, while preserving the core state functions. Within this context, CASH proposes the following recommendations to reduce complexity and achieve a more streamlined process:
- Centralized Project Document System & Project Initiation
- Budgeting/funding as it pertains to eligibility and fund reservation
- Planning changes that would include self-certification of site selection
- Local discretion in site design including a more flexible classroom definition
- Plan Reviews that focus primarily on digital viewing using validated security measures
- Simplifying the pupil grant program and using self-certification of fund site development costs
- Use new laws to simplify construction pre-qualification requirements
- Eliminate Close-Out project audits and self-certify legacy projects
