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• 4. Construction Standards <br />Over the past few years, the County has given special attention to defining <br />construction standards for each school level -elementary, middle and high schools. <br />The standards provide a minimum and maximum square footage and student capacity <br />for each level. As a system undertakes construction of a new facility, it is critical that <br />the system adheres to the most recent school construction standards (estimated project <br />cost should include a reasonable allowance for inflation). <br />The Commissioners agree to provide funding for new school facilities that are <br />designed within the adopted standards. They do not agree to fund projects that go <br />beyond the adopted standards unless there is sufficient justification provided in <br />writing by the Board of Education. One justification for going beyond the standards <br />centers relates to co-location of facilities, in particular recreational facilities. In this <br />case, the system must provide detailed explanations outlining the benefits to be <br />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 <br />legal authority to expend funds. The legal authority to expend funds lies in County <br />• Commissioner approved capital project ordinances. Therefore, the schools should not <br />incur any expenses for any capital project until the Board of County Commissioners <br />approves the capital project ordinance. <br />In order to provide timely flow of the approval process and ensure that all elements <br />are addressed, the following steps should be followed: <br />• Details included in each system's ten-year Capital Investment Plans regarding the <br />scope and timing of various phases of individual capital projects is limited. To <br />that end, as individual Boards of Education begin discussions related to new <br />capital projects (new construction, site acquisitions, major renovations, etc), they <br />will be expected, in writing, to notify the Board of County Commissioners of the <br />substance of those discussions. The memorandum from the School Board will: <br />Provide the Commissioners with an overview of the project concept along <br />with other project specifics that the Board of Education has defined to that <br />point; <br />• Justify the need based on current school capacities and projected student <br />enrollments consistent with the School Adequate Public Facility Ordinance (if <br />the Ordinance is in effect at this time); <br />Provide a preliminary cost projection of the project based upon the adopted <br />school construction standards and provisions of the Cost Effective Facilities <br />