The 2018-19 State Budget was approved by the Legislature on Thursday, June 14, along with the first batch of trailer bills.  More budget trailer bills will be signed next week, and we will report those changes when they become available.  The following is a highlight of what was included, and of interest to the school facilities community.

General Funding

The 2018-19 State Budget provides increased support for the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and one-time funding for discretionary purposes.  For the school facilities community, this is an opportunity to fund critical maintenance and school safety priorities by participating in the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) and highlighting on-going local capital needs, and using one-time funds for one-time needs.

Presentation proposals for the annual California STEAM Symposium in Long Beach are due on June 20^th, 2018. This year the conference will be held from October 28 to October 29. Partnering with a local education agency is optimal for our commercial partners in order to avoid being considered a vendor. The following conference strand recognizes the importance of school facilities in STEM and STEAM learning:

Essential Conditions for 21st-Century STEAM Teaching and Learning: Innovative learning environments promote inquiry and facilitate collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and creativity to help meet the needs of a variety of learners. STEAM learning environments that are student-centered require flexibility and accessibility for various types of learning, including project-based and Social-Emotional Learning, outdoor learning, modernized technology, and personalized instruction. Educators can support our diverse student population to succeed by designing instruction to foster a positive classroom environment where all learners are engaged and able to express what they know. Hear educators and facilities professionals share promising practices that cultivate success through their physical and conceptual structures.

To learn about the other conference strands and to submit your proposal online please visit: https://www.stemcalifornia.org/Page/108

Please contact Molly Stitt at the California Department of Education if you have questions:

mstitt@cde.ca.gov

916-322-6249

Executive Officer Statement

In her Executive Officer statement, Lisa Silverman gave the following updates:

Priority Funding Apportionments

In regards to the March 21, 2018 meeting the State Allocation Board (Board) approved 90 projects representing 63 school districts for $191 million in priority funding apportionments.  Of the 90 projects, 74 projects are required to submit the Fund Release Authorization (Form SAB 50-05) by Tuesday June 19, 2018.  Ms. Silverman also stated that Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) has received 31 (out of the 74) of the required forms SAB 50-05 for a total of $64.9 million.

Upcoming Priority Funding Filing Round

The next priority funding filing period began on May 9, 2018, and will close on June 7, 2018.  Priority funding requests with original signatures must be physically received by OPSC before the close of business on June 7, 2018.  The requests are valid from July 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018.

Joint Agency Workshops – Career Technical Education Facilities Program (CTEFP)

OPSC, California Department of Education (CDE) and the Division of the State Architect (DSA) are continuing to hold joint agency workshops to provide school districts and stakeholders with updates on the School Facility Program (SFP), CDE processes, and DSA submittals and process changes.  The CTEFP workshops are scheduled for the following dates and time:

• Wednesday, May 30, 2018,1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Van Nuys, CA
• Thursday, May 31, 2018, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Riverside, CA

Before the Board moved to hear appeals, Assembly Member Patrick O’Donnell requested that the Board agendize a discussion on Construction Cost Index (CCI) adjustments for a future meeting. Assembly Member O’Donnell requested that it include statute, legal implications and past practice.  The Board agreed to agendize the discussion.

Appeals

The Board heard and APPROVED the following appeals:

• Muroc Joint Unified (Kern County) – request to receive expedited unfunded approval for the Baily modernization project, and approval of the Seismic Mitigation Program project.
• Mountain Valley (Trinity County) – application for Facility Hardship funding.

Action Items

CTEFP Unfunded Approvals

The SAB provided $125 million for the fourth funding cycle of the SFP CTEFP, which will fund 73 projects totaling $124.5 million for placement on the Unfunded List (Lack of AB55 Loan) for CTEFP grants.  Proposition 51 provided the CTEFP $500 million in bond authority.

School Facility Program Approvals and Workload List

Amounts as of May 23, 2018 (Workload List does not include facility hardship projects):

SFP Approvals

New Construction       $14,250,485

Modernization             $15,977,505

Charter                          $ 6,476,405

Total                            $36,704,395

Workload List

New Construction       $2.19 Billion

Modernization             $1.41 Billion

Total                              $3.6   Billion

The next State Allocation Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 27, 2018 at 4:00 pm.

~ Ian Padilla, Legislative Advocate