Section 151.30  Application for School Construction Project Grant Awards

a)         Beginning July 1, 2022, and subject to appropriation from the School Infrastructure Fund or School Construction Fund and a release of those funds to the Capital Development Board, the State Board may open an application cycle to receive grant applications under this Subpart (see Section 5-15 of the School Construction Law). ISBE will post notice of the application cycle on the ISBE website and will include it in its weekly message. In addition, ISBE may also directly communicate about the application cycle with eligible applicants. No grant application filed before the first application cycle after June 30, 2022, will be considered.

b)         A school district seeking a school construction project grant award shall submit an application that includes a district facilities plan that contains all of the information required in Section 5-20 of the School Construction Law.

c)         Applications shall be submitted to the State Board electronically via the State Board’s website at https://www.isbe.net/Pages/School-Construction.aspx.

d)         Applications or updates to applications must be received no later than 180 days after the opening an application period. Each application or update must include the Capital Development Board's program statement as defined in 71 Ill. Adm. Code 40.130.

e)         An application that is incomplete will be returned and will not be processed until it is complete.  An application must be complete by the applicable filing deadline in order to be considered.  All information contained in the application shall be subject to verification and correction by the State Board of Education and the Capital Development Board by means including on-site inspection and review of documents.

f)         Each application shall include the following information.

1)         A narrative description of the present educational program of the district and anticipated changes in the educational program over the next five years, including:

A)        the number of schools currently operated by the district;

B)        the configuration of the district's schools by grade level;

C)        the basis upon which students are assigned to the district's schools; and

D)        the nature and estimated impact of any changes in these factors over the next five years.

2)         A description of the present and projected financial position of the district, including, but not limited to, the availability of current revenue, fund balances, the amount of general obligation debt of the district, and the amount of unused bonding power.  This requirement may be met by attaching or, if already on file with the State Board, incorporating by reference:

A)        a copy of the district's basic financial statements (i.e., Statement of Revenues Received/Revenues, Expenditures Disbursed/Expenditures, Other Financing Sources (Uses), and Changes in Fund Balances) from the district's Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ending June 30 immediately preceding the fiscal year in which the application or update is submitted;

B)        a copy of Part III (Budget Summary) and Part IV (Summary of Cash Transactions) from the School District Budget Form for the fiscal year in which the application or update is submitted; and

C)        a statement showing the amount of the district's unused bonding power as determined under Article 19 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5].

3)         A description of the district's maintenance plan and schedule, including, but not limited to:

A)        the maximum authorized operations and maintenance tax rate of the district;

B)        the rate at which the operations and maintenance taxes were last extended;

C)        the amount of operations and maintenance expenditures for the last fiscal year;

D)        a statement assuring that new, renovated, and existing facilities are being or will be properly maintained; and

E)        a brief explanation of how the district intends to maintain new, renovated, and existing facilities.

4)         Facility inventory information, including:

A)        a listing of each parcel of land, building, building addition, or other structure owned or used by the district to house its operations or held by the district for investment or revenue-producing purposes;

B)        for each parcel of land, building, building addition, or other structure, a listing of the following information, as applicable:

i)          the facility type;

ii)         the ownership class;

iii)        an indication of whether the structure is a main building or a building addition;

iv)        the functional age of the building or addition as determined under Section 151.50(d)(2);

v)         the enrollment capacity as determined pursuant to the standards specified in Section 151.50(d);

vi)        the type of school housed in the building or building addition;

vii)       the number of students currently housed in the facility;

viii)      the number of inadequately housed students currently housed in the facility as determined under Section 151.50(c) and (d);

ix)        an indication of the district's plans for the facility within the next five years; and

x)         an indication of which planned activities are the subject of a request for a school construction project grant.

5)         The following documents, certified by a licensed design professional licensed under the Illinois Architecture Practice Act of 1989 [225 ILCS 305] or an equivalent licensing act from another state:

A)        any available capacity worksheets;

B)        facility evaluation worksheets;

C)        field inspection score sheets; and

D)        the district facilities plan.

g)         Each application submitted shall also include information demonstrating that the project conforms to the "green building" requirements of Section 5-40 of the School Construction Law. Conformance may be demonstrated by providing a certification that the applicant will receive a silver certification from the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System, posted at http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=222 (2009; no later editions or revisions are incorporated), unless the applicant meets all of the exceptions described in Section 5-40 of the School Construction Law.

h)         The State Board will notify all applicants regarding their eligibility for a grant. The notification will include an estimate of the required local match. The State Board will also publish on its website a list of applicants eligible for grants and will forward this list to the Capital Development Board (see Section 5-15(a) of the School Construction Law).

(Source:  Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 11439, effective July 12, 2023)