§100.11. School facilities preservation; certain districts
A.(1) There is hereby established for each school district as defined in Subsection
I of this Section a school facilities preservation program. The program shall be funded,
structured, and operated as provided in this Section and policies adopted by the school board
in accordance with this Section.
(2) Proceeds of the following taxes, hereafter referred to in this Section as "facility
funds", shall be used to fund the school facilities preservation program:
(a) The proceeds of local sales taxes at a rate of thirteen-hundredths percent.
However, from these proceeds the school board shall fulfill the obligation required by R.S.
17:3995(A)(1)(c) and shall continue to make payments for school facility debt that existed
on July 1, 2014, until the debt is fully paid. Upon payment of such debt, all of the proceeds
of the local sales tax dedicated by this Subparagraph, except for the portion used to fulfill the
obligation required by R.S. 17:3995(A)(1)(c), shall be used for purposes of this Section.
(b) The proceeds from property taxes dedicated to capital outlay and authorized by
voters after July 1, 2014, to support the purposes of this Section.
(3) The proceeds of property taxes dedicated by voters for payment of bonds held by
the school board and in existence as of July 1, 2014, shall not be considered and not
otherwise administered as facility funds under the provisions of this Section. Additionally,
the school board shall not refinance bonds that are outstanding on July 1, 2014, nor shall it
take any action that would delay the retirement of such bonds. It is the intention of this
Paragraph that such bonds be paid in full no later than the dates specified by the payment
schedule in existence on July 1, 2014.
B. Each year, the amounts, by source, of facility funds, revolving loan fund funds,
capital improvement fund funds, and the per campus student counts used in calculations
pursuant to this Subsection shall be included as a schedule to the annual financial statements
of the school board, audited by its certified public accountant, and submitted to the state
Department of Education, all in a manner substantially similar to that provided in R.S.
17:1990(C)(2)(a)(iii)(dd).
C.(1) The operator of each school in the school district shall maintain a school
facility repair and replacement account for each campus; such accounts are referred to in this
Section as "school facility accounts".
(2)(a) Beginning with the year following the retirement of all bonds referenced in
Paragraph (A)(3) of this Section, the school board shall annually deposit into each school
facility account amounts as follows:
(i) Eight hundred dollars per student for a school that is in a facility that was
constructed prior to September 1, 2005, and that has not received a renovation exceeding half
the value of the facility's replacement cost since that date.
(ii) Five hundred dollars per student for a school that does not meet the criteria
established in Item (i) of this Subparagraph.
(b) If facility funds are not sufficient to deposit the amounts required by
Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, the school board shall deposit available funds in school
facility accounts in accordance with its policy.
(3) Except as provided in Paragraph (7) of this Subsection, the school facility
accounts shall be segregated, and funds therein shall not be commingled with other school
funds. Funds in such an account shall be used only for the benefit of the campus for which
it was established. The school board shall adopt investment policies governing school
facility accounts. The provisions of R.S. 33:2955 and R.S. 49:321 are applicable to such
accounts. Investment and interest earnings generated on funds in a school facility account
shall be credited to the account and shall not be transferred to another account or used for
purposes other than those allowable for funds in the school facility account. A school facility
account shall be audited annually in accordance with monitoring policies developed by the
school board, which shall include verification that the proper amounts were deposited into
the school facility account and invested and used according to law and policy.
(4) The funds in the school facility account may be used only for the costs of capital
repairs, improvements, and replacement, including debt service and other financing costs
associated therewith. All expenditures shall be in accordance with law and policies
developed by the school board. The school board shall develop policies defining an
emergency and the protocol a school must follow in expending funds in the school facility
account for emergency repairs. Expenditures for planned capital repairs, improvements, and
replacements and finance costs associated with such expenditures shall be approved in
advance by the charter school's board if the school is a charter school and the school board.
Expenditures for planned capital repairs and replacements shall reflect the appropriate
priorities as reflected in the school's long-term capital plan developed pursuant to Paragraph
(5) of this Subsection.
(5) Prior to the retirement of all bonds referenced in Paragraph (A)(3) of this Section,
the school facilities office, as provided for in Paragraph (D)(1) of this Section, shall develop
for each campus, in consultation with the operator of the school, a long-term capital plan that
meets the minimum requirements established by the school board. After the retirement of
such bonds, the operator of the school is responsible for updating such plans, subject to
requirements developed by the school board and the approval of the school facilities office.
Such plans shall include but need not be limited to identifying key building components and
when they will likely need to be repaired or replaced and the estimated cost of doing so.
(6) A school shall comply with all applicable school board policies regarding
projects funded through its school facility account including but not limited to disadvantaged
business enterprises policies.
(7) A charter operator may make a loan to a school facility account in accordance
with school board policy and subject to school board approval. The loan shall be made only
from excess fund balances or other funds not designated for instructional purposes from the
school holding the school facility account or another school under the same operator. All
such loans shall be interest-free. If the school tenant of a campus with an outstanding loan
to the school facility account changes, the new school tenant must pay back the loan under
the same terms as the prior tenant. If a school is lending money to the school facility
account, the loan may be repaid with funds from the school facility account, just as if the
school had borrowed money from the revolving loan fund, as provided for in Subsection F
of this Section. The school board shall develop policies to address repayment of the loan in
the event the campus is no longer occupied by a school.
(8) If a school does not follow the legal and policy requirements for the school
facility account, the school board may suspend or terminate a school's authority to use and
control the funds in the school facility account. Prior to any such action, the school board
shall give formal notice to the school and provide an opportunity for it to remedy the
deficiency, all in accordance with policies governing such procedures.
(9) Funds in a school facility account are the property of the school board. A school
facility account is campus-specific and remains with the campus should the school tenant of
the campus change or should the school tenant no longer occupy the campus. However, if
a campus is no longer to be used as a school, funds in the school facility account for that
campus shall be used or redistributed in accordance with school board policies, which shall
ensure that such funds are used for the benefit of campuses in the school district.
D.(1) The school board shall create a facilities office. From annual facility funds,
it shall use twenty dollars per pupil attending school at a campus in the school district or
whatever lesser amount is available after payments pursuant to Subsection C of this Section
to fund the facilities office. The school board may adjust this per pupil amount on an annual
basis by the lesser of the most recent annual increase in the Consumer Price Index published
by the United States Department of Labor or in the minimum foundation program funds.
(2) To the extent that facility funds are available pursuant to Paragraph (1) of this
Subsection, the facilities office shall perform the following functions:
(a) Inspect and monitor facilities to ensure that they are being maintained and that
each campus is in compliance with maintenance and inspection requirements. If a school is
not properly maintaining its campus as required in the lease agreement, the school board may
suspend or terminate use of the school facility account funds as provided in Paragraph (C)(8)
of this Section or perform necessary maintenance, repair, or replacement work and charge
the school the costs of such work plus a service fee. Prior to performing any such work, the
school board shall give formal notice to the school and provide an opportunity for it to
remedy the deficiency, all in accordance with policies governing such procedures.
(b) Manage building leases, handle emergency repairs prior to the retirement of the
bonds referenced in Paragraph (A)(3) of this Section, ensure the management of the
revolving loan fund and capital improvement fund, oversee and ensure the proper
management of school facility repair and replacement accounts, all as provided for by this
Section, and develop or approve long-term capital plans as provided for in Paragraph (C)(5)
of this Section.
(3) The facilities office may provide additional facility services to charter schools,
including emergency and capital repairs or replacements made after the retirement of the
bonds referenced in Paragraph (A)(3) of this Section, procurement services, and technical
assistance, and charge fees for such services pursuant to a written agreement with the school.
E.(1) Until all bonds referenced in Paragraph (A)(3) of this Section are retired, the
school board shall use facility funds remaining after the allocation provided for in Subsection
D of this Section for emergency repairs and replacements in accordance with policies it
adopts for such purpose and for development of capital plans by the school facilities office
as provided for in Paragraph (C)(5) of this Section. No more than one million five hundred
thousand dollars of these funds shall be used to fund the development of such capital plans.
(2) In the school year following the retirement of such bonds and each year
thereafter, the school board shall transfer remaining facility funds to the revolving loan fund,
as is provided for in Subsection F of this Section, and to the capital improvement fund as is
provided for in Subsection G of this Section. In the first year following retirement of the
bonds, fifty million dollars or whatever lesser amount of facility funds remains shall be
deposited into the revolving loan fund. If funds remain after this deposit of fifty million
dollars, the school board shall determine the distribution of any remaining funds to the
revolving loan fund and the capital improvement fund. In each subsequent year, the school
board shall transfer remaining facility funds according to the following allocation schedule:
(a) If less than a total of fifty million dollars has been transferred to the revolving
loan fund since its creation, all available funds shall be transferred into the revolving loan
fund until the total contributions to the revolving loan fund since its creation equals fifty
million dollars.
(b) If more than fifty million dollars but less than seventy-five million dollars has
been transferred to the revolving loan fund since its creation, then half of all available funds
shall be transferred into the revolving loan fund and half of all available funds shall be
transferred into the capital improvement fund.
(c) If more than seventy-five million dollars has been transferred to the revolving
loan fund since its creation, twenty-five percent of all available funds shall be transferred into
the revolving loan fund and seventy-five percent of such funds shall be transferred into the
capital improvement fund.
F.(1) The school board shall establish a revolving loan fund and make loans from the
fund to schools that are in campuses in the school district to finance emergency or planned
capital repairs and replacements, all in accordance with this Subsection.
(2) The school board shall establish policies governing the following: eligible
repairs and replacements, how schools are to handle emergency repairs, approval of loan
applications, maintenance of a minimum balance in the loan fund, priorities for granting
loans, and any other aspect of administering the loan fund and loans made from it.
(3) A school shall be eligible for a loan only if the balance in its school facility
account is below seventy-five thousand dollars. However, if a school will use funds from
the school facility account to fund a portion of a repair or replacement project, it may receive
a loan for that project if its budgeted expenditures for the project will result in a balance in
its school facility account below seventy-five thousand dollars.
(4) A loan application from a charter school shall be approved by the charter school's
board prior to submission to the school board for approval.
(5) Loans shall be interest-free; however, the school board may charge a loan
origination fee not exceeding five percent of the value of the loan or thirty thousand dollars
per loan, whichever is less.
(6) Schools shall repay loans in accordance with the terms of the loan agreement
from funds to be deposited to its school facility account, as provided for in Subsection C of
this Section.
(7) No school may use proceeds of a loan for operating expenses, maintenance, or
insurance costs.
(8) If a school vacates a campus for which a loan is outstanding and another school
becomes the tenant in that campus, the new school shall assume the debt. The school board
shall develop policies to address repayment of a loan in the event the campus is no longer
occupied by a school.
G.(1) The school board shall establish a capital improvement fund and make grants
from the fund to schools that are on campuses in the school district to finance preservation,
improvements, capital repairs, construction, and replacement of facilities.
(2) The school board shall adopt policies governing the administration of the fund,
including the expenditure of money in the capital improvement fund, criteria for determining
when grants are made from the fund, and regular reports to the school board on fund activity.
(3) The school board shall establish policies defining the maximum grant for a single
project.
H.(1) The school board shall not charge rent or any other fee to a charter school in
the school district for the occupancy, use, or repair of a campus other than as authorized by
this Section. The school board may, however, require a charter school to pay for
maintenance, insurance, utilities, and other costs related to the operation and upkeep of a
campus, as outlined in the lease agreement for occupancy of the campus. Except as provided
in this Paragraph, this Section does not authorize a school board to require a charter school
to expend funds on emergency or planned capital repairs or replacements in excess of funds
available for such purposes pursuant to this Section.
(2) The school board shall annually prepare and issue a public report that includes
all of the following: the amount of funds in the revolving loan fund and all loans made
therefrom, the amount of funds in the capital improvement fund and all grants made
therefrom, the amount of facility funds distributed to each campus, the amount allocated to
fund the facility office, and the cost and type of each emergency repair made by the facilities
office if applicable.
(3) This Section shall not be construed as a limitation on any authority or
responsibility of a school board to seek or to expend funds on facility repairs, replacements,
and improvements as otherwise provided by law including but not limited to the provisions
of R.S. 17:59, 81, and 98.
I. For purposes of this Section, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed:
(1) "Campus" means a school building owned by the school board and all facilities
otherwise part of the school, recognized as part of the facilities, and typically available to the
school, its students, faculty, and staff. A single campus may include more than one
neighboring school building. Generally, a single campus includes all facilities sharing a
single legal address. In some cases, more than one school may occupy a single campus, and
in other cases, a single school may occupy more than one campus.
(2) "School" means any public school with a unique site code assigned by the
department or any educational program that serves public school students on a campus
pursuant to a partnership with the school board as defined by school board policy governing
school facilities preservation.
(3) "School board" means the elected school board that governs schools in a school
district.
(4) "School district" means all schools within the geographic jurisdiction of a local
school board within which schools have been transferred to the Recovery School District
pursuant to R.S. 17:10.7.
Acts 2014, No. 543, §1, eff. July 1, 2014; Acts 2016, No. 91, §1, eff. May 12, 2016;
Acts 2019, No. 430, §1; Acts 2023, No. 55, §1.