November 2016 State School Bond Initiative – Coalition for Adequate School Housing

State Allocation Board Update

Posted on June 28, 2017 by CASH

June 28, 2017

On Wednesday, June 28, the State Allocation Board (SAB) met to hear issues related to actions taken at their meeting on June 5, 2017 (approval of “Option 1”). Specifically, under Action Items, the agenda included “Regulatory Amendments for Increased Program Accountability” and “Regulatory Amendments for the Financial Hardship Program.” Under Informational Items, the agenda included “School Facility Program Application Processing.” The following is a summary of each agenda item.

Regulatory Amendments for Increased Program Accountability

At its June 5th meeting, the SAB approved a grant agreement template and conforming regulatory amendments. Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) staff indicated that necessary changes would need to be presented to the SAB if the budget trailer bill was enacted (AB 99 was subsequently signed by the Governor). This item seeks SAB approval for the revised template grant agreement. The item was APPROVED with no discussion.

Regulatory Amendments for the Financial Hardship Program

These proposed regulatory amendments would allow districts seeking Financial Hardship assistance to submit a request for funding without a pre-approved Financial Hardship status. This would allow a Financial Hardship approval process by accepting the Form SAB 50-04 when districts are ready to submit, and conducting a Financial Hardship review at the time the application is processed, prior to placement on the Unfunded List. CASH has advocated for this improvement to the Financial Hardship Program for many years and fully supports this proposal. This item was APPROVED with no discussion.

School Facility Program Application Processing

At their June 5th meeting, the SAB directed OPSC staff to begin processing the Applications Received Beyond Bond Authority List, as well as newly submitted applications. In this item, OPSC staff presented information to the SAB on how they will process the projects previously on this list, as well as Approved Applications for new construction and modernization projects received on or after April 1, 2017, that are now on the OPSC workload list. Included in the approval of “Option 1” was the requirement that districts must recalculate their enrollment and SFP eligibility. CASH strongly objects to this action. CASH Vice Chair Julie Arthur (Palm Springs USD) testified that CASH believes that the provisions of “Option 1” are inconsistent with statute, and asked the SAB to revisit the issue. No request to revisit “Option 1” or action was taken on this item because it was not an Action item.

The next SAB meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 23, 2017.

~ CASH Staff

Posted in Construction, Energy, Finance, General, Legal, Legislation, Maintenance & Operations, Planning & Architecture, Proposition 51, State Agency, Uncategorized, Water 2016 School Facilities Bond Initiative, 2016 State School Bond Initiative, Californians for Quality Schools, Charter School Facilities Program, Coalition for Adequate School Housing, CQS, Department of Finance, DIR, Division of the State Architect, DSA, Kindergarten Through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2016, November 2016 ballot, November 2016 General Election, November 2016 State School Bond Initiative, office of public school construction, OPSC, Prop 51, Proposition 51, SAB, School Facility Program, school finance, SFP, state allocation board, State School Bond, State School Bond Initiative, statewide school bond, Yes on 51, Yes on Proposition 51

Quarterly Message from the Chair

Posted on April 25, 2017 by CASH

April 25, 2017

Continuing Our Success

“A school building is more than a physical structure providing housing, light, heat, and shelter from the elements; it is the expression of the community’s commitment to education.”

– Donald Leu

It is my honor to have been chosen to lead the CASH organization at this critical and exciting time. I would like to thank the CASH Board for showing their faith in me, and particularly our outgoing chair Jenny Hannah. We all know Jenny as a kind and compassionate leader, and we have also learned that she can be relentless in the pursuit of the issue that is the foundation of our organization: that the state of California must be a partner in providing resources for communities to build and maintain schools. Her leadership and effort during the Proposition 51 campaign contributed significantly to its success. Thank you, Jenny, for working in the best interests of the students and teachers of California. You made Middle Earth proud.

Posted in Proposition 51, Uncategorized 2016 School Facilities Bond Initiative, 2016 State School Bond Initiative, Californians for Quality Schools, Coalition for Adequate School Housing, CQS, Kindergarten Through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2016, November 2016 ballot, November 2016 General Election, November 2016 State School Bond Initiative, office of public school construction, OPSC, Proposition 51, School Facility Program, SFP

OPSC Stakeholder Meeting on Front-End Grant Agreements for the SFP

Posted on March 30, 2017 by CASH

On Thursday, March 30, 2017, the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) held a stakeholder meeting in Sacramento to review OPSC’s draft grant agreements for the School Facility Program (SFP). The OPSC is planning to receive stakeholder input, and then take the item to the State Allocation Board (SAB) on its April agenda scheduled for April 26, 2017. This is a key document that needs to completed before Proposition 51 funds become available for school districts projects. CASH’s Board of Directors goal on OPSC’s proposed front-end grant agreement is to ensure that the grant agreement and audit guide are consistent with one another so that districts understand the rules and expectations throughout the entire life of the project. Further, CASH is requesting concurrent adoption of the Administration’s trailer bill language by the date of the April SAB Board meeting. CASH believes that such coordination is necessary to allow for the establishment of clear expectations while facilitating swift implementation of Proposition 51. Joe Dixon, Tom Duffy, and Ian Padilla attended the stakeholder meeting to represent CASH.

The substance of the meeting discussion was OPSC receiving and responding to stakeholders concerns. While the meeting included discussion of many significant policy and technical issues, the overarching concern expressed by stakeholders was to distinguish between what are clarifications to the existing process and what are changes to the existing process. In addition, stakeholders expressed concern that there has been insufficient time to provide quality input on the proposal and requested additional opportunities to provide feedback. In response, OPSC staff stated that they are open to additional written input and would look into the possibility of another stakeholder meeting, but that they wanted to ensure they had adequate time to prepare the document for presentation at the April SAB meeting.

~ CASH Staff

Posted in General, Legal, Legislation, Proposition 51, State Agency 2016 School Facilities Bond Initiative, 2016 State School Bond Initiative, Californians for Quality Schools, Charter School Facilities Program, Coalition for Adequate School Housing, CQS, Kindergarten Through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2016, November 2016 ballot, November 2016 General Election, November 2016 State School Bond Initiative, office of public school construction, OPSC, Proposition 51, SAB, School Facility Program, SFP, state allocation board, State School Bond, State School Bond Initiative, statewide school bond, Yes on 51, Yes on Proposition 51

State Budget 2017-18 Update: Governor Addresses Proposition 51 Implementation

Posted on January 10, 2017 by CASH

State Budget 2017-18 Update: Governor Addresses Proposition 51 Implementation

The Governor’s Budget proposal contains good news for school facilities, as well as some challenges. With regard to the implementation of Proposition 51, the Governor stated his willingness to work to have Proposition 51 funds flow to school projects. The challenges will be implementing the audit provisions that Governor Brown wants before allowing Proposition 51 funds to flow. Concerning Proposition 39 energy efficiency funding, the Governor proposes $422.9 million for K-12 school districts and charter schools, which is a significant investment.

CASH has always supported accountability for spending taxpayer funds. We have a stated policy that every public funded school project should be audited. If there are changes needed, we look forward to making those changes as soon as possible. We believe the audit guide concern can be addressed immediately without legislation because the guide is developed by the State Controller, Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Director of the Department of Finance. If legislation is needed to have a long-term statutory authority, CASH believes that can be done through a budget trailer bill. We will have more updates in the coming days as more details become available. Below is a summary of the proposed State Budget relating to school facilities.

Posted in Construction, Energy, Finance, General, Legal, Legislation, Maintenance & Operations, Planning & Architecture, State Agency, Uncategorized 2016 School Facilities Bond Initiative, 2016 State School Bond Initiative, Californians for Quality Schools, Coalition for Adequate School Housing, CQS, Department of Finance, Division of the State Architect, DSA, Kindergarten Through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2016, November 2016 ballot, November 2016 General Election, November 2016 State School Bond Initiative, office of public school construction, OPSC, Prop 51, Prop. 39, Proposition 39, Proposition 51, SAB, School Facility Program, school finance, SFP, state allocation board, State School Bond, State School Bond Initiative, statewide school bond

Now that Proposition 51 Passed, When Will the School Construction Dollars Start to Flow?

Posted on December 12, 2016 by CASH

December 12, 2016

Over the weekend, the East Bay Times published an article about the implementation of Proposition 51. Read the full article below.

Now that Proposition 51 Passed, When Will the School Construction Dollars Start to Flow?

~ CASH Staff

Posted in Construction, Finance, General, Legal, Legislation, Maintenance & Operations, Planning & Architecture, State Agency, Uncategorized 2016 School Facilities Bond Initiative, 2016 State School Bond Initiative, Californians for Quality Schools, Coalition for Adequate School Housing, CQS, Kindergarten Through Community College Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2016, November 2016 ballot, November 2016 General Election, November 2016 State School Bond Initiative, office of public school construction, OPSC, Prop 51, Proposition 51, SAB, School Facility Program, school finance, SFP, state allocation board, State School Bond, State School Bond Initiative, statewide school bond, Yes on 51, Yes on Proposition 51