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DRAFT <br />Revised <br />9/07/00 <br />minimum and maximum square footage and student capacity for each level. As a system <br />undertakes construction of a new facility, it is critical that the system adheres to the most recent <br />school construction standards (estimated project cost should include a reasonable allowance for <br />inflation). <br />The Conunissioners agree to provide funding for new school facilities that are designed within <br />the adopted standards. They do not agree to fiend projects that go beyond the adopted standards <br />unless there is sufficient justification provided in writing by the Board of Education. One <br />justification for going beyond the standards centers on conmiunity use of the new facility. For <br />example, a system may design a facility with a "larger than standards gymnasium" that allows for <br />citizen/community use. In this case, the system must provide detailed explanations outlining the <br />benefits to be offered to the community and citizens, in the context of the intergovernmental <br />"Memorandum of Agreement for Providing Coordinated Site and Facility Planning". <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 fixnds lies in County Conmlissioner 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 follo~~-~ing 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 rnernorandum from the <br />School Board will: <br />Provide the Commissioners ~~~ith 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 />-Thich has derived from earlier discussions about "value engineering" (if this policy is in <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 />Page 4 of 7 <br />Policy on Planning and Funding School Capital Projects <br />