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9 <br /> Revised April 2008 <br /> 5. Project Approval <br /> A project's inclusion in the ten-year plan does not give the Schools or the County legal authority <br /> to expend funds. The legal authority to expend funds lies in County Commissioner approved <br /> capital project ordinances. Therefore, the schools should not incur any expenses for any capital <br /> project until the Board of County Commissioners approves the capital project ordinance. <br /> In order to provide timely flow of the approval process and ensure that all elements are <br /> addressed, the following steps should be followed: <br /> • Details included in each system's ten-year Capital Investment Plans regarding the scope and <br /> timing of various phases of individual capital projects is limited. To that end, as individual <br /> Boards of Education begin discussions related to new capital projects (new construction, site <br /> acquisitions, major renovations, etc), they will be expected, in writing, to notify the Board of <br /> County Commissioners of the substance of those discussions. The memorandum from the <br /> School Board will: <br /> • Provide the Commissioners with an overview of the project concept along with other <br /> project specifics that the Board of Education has defined to that point; <br /> • Justify the need based on current school capacities and projected student enrollments <br /> consistent with the School Adequate Public Facility Ordinance (if the Ordinance is in <br /> effect at this time); <br /> • Provide a preliminary cost projection of the project based upon the adopted school <br /> construction standards and provisions of the Cost Effective Facilities Initiative (CEFI), <br /> which has derived from earlier discussions about "value engineering" (if this policy is in <br /> effect at this time); <br /> • Request that the Board of Commissioners approve a capital project ordinance to provide <br /> funding for the initial planning phase of the project; <br /> • Instruct the Superintendent to update the County Manager, in writing, of the project's <br /> progress at his/her monthly meetings with the County Manager. <br /> • Upon receipt of the memorandum from the Board of Education, the Board of <br /> Commissioners will: <br /> • Act upon the project concept by either approving it or asking the Board of Education to <br /> amend the concept plan; <br /> • Instruct County staff to confirm the project's cost estimate and student capacity in <br /> accordance with the County's adopted School Construction Standards Reports along <br /> with student enrollment projections; <br /> Page 4 of 6 <br /> Policy on Planning and Funding School Capital Projects <br />