Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-265u: Public School district repair and improvement project program. Bond authorization.

(a) As used in this section:

(1) “Public school operator” means any (A) local or regional board of education, (B) regional educational service center, (C) interdistrict magnet school operator described in section 10-264s, (D) endowed academy approved pursuant to section 10-34, or (E) state charter school;

(2) “District repair and improvement project” means a capital expenditure project, approved by a public school operator, for any of the following: (A) The construction, renovation, repair or enlargement of school buildings or school grounds, including parking lots, athletic fields and playgrounds; (B) improvements to school facilities for compliance with health, safety or code requirements; or (C) the purchase, installation or maintenance of or improvements to fixed school infrastructure, including, but not limited to, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, plumbing, electrical systems and roofing;

(3) “Number of students enrolled” means the number of all students enrolled in a school or schools, as applicable, under the jurisdiction of a public school operator on October first or the full school day immediately preceding such date;

(4) “Number of students eligible for free or reduced price meals or free milk” means the number of students enrolled in a school or schools, as applicable, under the jurisdiction of a public school operator on October first or the full school day immediately preceding such date, in families that meet the income eligibility guidelines established by the federal Department of Agriculture for free or reduced price meals or free milk under the National School Lunch Program, established pursuant to P.L. 79-396; and

(5) “Total need students” means the sum of: (A) The number of students enrolled for the school year; (B) thirty per cent of the number of students eligible for free or reduced price meals or free milk; (C) fifteen per cent of the number of students eligible for free or reduced price meals or free milk in excess of the number of students eligible for free or reduced price meals or free milk that is equal to sixty per cent of the total number of students enrolled for the school year; (D) twenty-five per cent of the number of students enrolled who are multilingual learners, as defined in section 10-17o; and (E) thirty per cent of the number of students enrolled who require special education, as defined in section 10-76a.

(b) (1) There is established a public school district repair and improvement project program to assist public school operators with the costs of minor capital repairs, improvements and maintenance, mitigate such operators' need for more costly and extensive renovations and construction in the future and improve accessibility to safe and well-maintained school buildings and grounds for students and educators. On February first of each year, not more than the amount as authorized by the General Assembly for the fiscal year from the resources of the district repair and improvement account established under subsection (h) of this section shall be allocated to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, who shall allocate an amount to each public school operator in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of this section. The secretary shall credit all such allocated moneys to a subaccount for each public school operator and make district repair and improvement project grants from such subaccounts to such public school operator pursuant to the provisions of this section. The secretary shall maintain records indicating, for each public school operator's subaccount, the amount credited to the subaccount each year, the amount paid out in district repair and improvement project grants and charged to the subaccount and the balance available for additional district repair and improvement project grants.

(2) No amounts allocated under this section shall be used to satisfy a local matching requirement for any state assistance program or for any school building project under section 10-283.

(c) (1) Each allocation under subsection (b) of this section shall be made to a public school operator in accordance with the following formula: (A) Fifty per cent of the amount shall be allocated pro rata on the basis of the following ratio: The public school operator's total need students enrolled in a school or schools, as applicable, under the jurisdiction of the public school operator for the fiscal year prior to the year in which the grant is to be paid to the total need students enrolled in all such schools in the state for the fiscal year prior to the year in which the grant is to be paid; (B) twenty per cent of the amount shall be allocated equally among all public school operators; and (C) thirty per cent of the amount shall be allocated pro rata on the basis of the following ratio: The total number of students enrolled in a school or schools, as applicable, under the jurisdiction of a public school operator for the fiscal year prior to the year in which the grant is to be paid multiplied by the inverse of the adjusted equalized net grand list per capita of such public school operator, which shall be the numerator of the fraction, and the sum of the resulting products for all the public school operators, which shall be the denominator of the fraction.

(2) For the purposes of this subsection, the adjusted equalized net grand list per capita of a public school operator shall be determined as follows:

(A) For a local board of education, the adjusted equalized net grand list per capita shall be the same as the adjusted equalized net grand list per capita, as defined in section 10-261, of the town of such board;

(B) For a regional board of education, a regional educational service center, an interdistrict magnet school operator described in section 10-264s or an endowed academy, the adjusted equalized net grand list per capita shall be determined by such entity's rank under section 10-285a, where the adjusted equalized net grand list per capita shall be the same as the adjusted equalized net grand list per capita of a town with the same ranking; and

(C) For a charter school, the adjusted equalized net grand list per capita shall be the same as the adjusted equalized net grand list per capita, as defined in section 10-261, of the town in which such charter school is located.

(d) On March first of each year, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management shall notify each public school operator of the amount allocated to such public school operator pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) of this section and shall post on said office's Internet web site such allocation amounts and the calculations for all public school operators.

(e) Allocated moneys credited to the subaccount of a public school operator in accordance with subsection (b) of this section shall be issued as a grant by the secretary to the public school operator not later than June thirtieth of each fiscal year. Such public school operator shall use such grants for reimbursement and costs associated with district repair and improvement projects.

(f) Not later than September 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, each public school operator issued a grant pursuant to subsection (e) of this section in the preceding fiscal year shall submit a report to the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, in a form and manner prescribed by the secretary, describing each district repair and improvement project for which amounts were expended in such fiscal year and the amounts expended for each such project. Such report shall include a certification by the public school operator that (1) the district repair and improvement project was approved by the public school operator or a board, a council or other body responsible for overseeing such project, and (2) no grant money allocated under this section to such public school operator for such fiscal year was used to satisfy a local matching requirement for any state assistance program or for any school building project under section 10-283. The secretary shall post all reports submitted pursuant to this subsection on said office's Internet web site.

(g) Each public school operator receiving a district repair and improvement project grant under this section shall retain, for a period of not less than three years following the completion of such project, detailed accounting records of all expenses incurred relative to the district repair and improvement project for which a grant is received. If the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management determines that such records are not maintained or a review of such records indicates that such grant, or any portion thereof, was used for other than its intended purpose, the secretary shall provide written notification to the public school operator of such finding. Upon issuing a finding under this section, the secretary may require the public school operator to promptly pay to the state an amount equal to the amount of the grant or may cause the amount of any future grant made under this section to be reduced by such amount.

(h) There is established an account to be known as the “district repair and improvement account”, which shall be a separate, nonlapsing account. The account shall contain any moneys required by law to be deposited in the account. Moneys in the account shall be expended by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management for the purposes of this section.

(i) For the purposes described in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the State Bond Commission shall have the power from time to time to authorize the issuance of bonds of the state in one or more series and in principal amounts not exceeding in the aggregate sixty million dollars, provided thirty million dollars of said authorization shall be effective July 1, 2026.

(j) The proceeds of the sale of such bonds, to the extent of the amount stated in subsection (i) of this section, shall be used by the Office of Policy and Management for the purposes of subsections (b) and (c) of this section.

(k) All provisions of section 3-20, or the exercise of any right or power granted thereby, that are not inconsistent with the provisions of this section are hereby adopted and shall apply to all bonds authorized by the State Bond Commission pursuant to this section. Temporary notes in anticipation of the money to be derived from the sale of any such bonds so authorized may be issued in accordance with section 3-20 and from time to time renewed. Such bonds shall mature at such time or times not exceeding twenty years from their respective dates as may be provided in or pursuant to the resolution or resolutions of the State Bond Commission authorizing such bonds. None of such bonds shall be authorized except upon a finding by the State Bond Commission that there has been filed with it a request for such authorization that is signed by or on behalf of the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and states such terms and conditions as said commission, in its discretion, may require. Such bonds issued pursuant to this section shall be general obligations of the state and the full faith and credit of the state of Connecticut are pledged for the payment of the principal of and interest on such bonds as the same become due, and accordingly and as part of the contract of the state with the holders of such bonds, appropriation of all amounts necessary for punctual payment of such principal and interest is hereby made, and the State Treasurer shall pay such principal and interest as the same become due.