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91_SB0478
LRB9102966NTsb
1 AN ACT to amend the School Code by changing Section
2 17-2.11.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing
6 Section 17-2.11 as follows:
7 (105 ILCS 5/17-2.11) (from Ch. 122, par. 17-2.11)
8 Sec. 17-2.11. School board power to levy a tax or to
9 borrow money and issue bonds for fire prevention, safety,
10 energy conservation, handicapped disabled accessibility,
11 school security, and specified repair purposes. Whenever, as
12 a result of any lawful order of any agency, other than a
13 school board, having authority to enforce any school building
14 code applicable to any facility that houses students, or any
15 law or regulation for the protection and safety of the
16 environment, pursuant to the Environmental Protection Act,
17 any school district having a population of less than 500,000
18 inhabitants is required to alter or reconstruct any school
19 building or permanent, fixed equipment; or whenever any such
20 district determines that it is necessary for energy
21 conservation purposes that any school building or permanent,
22 fixed equipment should be altered or reconstructed and that
23 such alterations or reconstruction will be made with funds
24 not necessary for the completion of approved and recommended
25 projects contained in any safety survey report or amendments
26 thereto authorized by Section 2-3.12 of this Act; or whenever
27 any such district determines that it is necessary for
28 handicapped disabled accessibility purposes and to comply
29 with the school building code or any law or regulation
30 concerning handicapped accessibility, pursuant to the federal
31 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, that any school
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1 building or equipment should be altered or reconstructed and
2 that such alterations or reconstruction will be made with
3 funds not necessary for the completion of approved and
4 recommended projects contained in any safety survey report or
5 amendments thereto authorized under Section 2-3.12 of this
6 Act; or whenever any such district determines that it is
7 necessary for school security purposes and the related
8 protection and safety of pupils and school personnel that any
9 school building or property should be altered or
10 reconstructed or that security systems and equipment
11 (including but not limited to intercom, early detection and
12 warning, access control and television monitoring systems)
13 should be purchased and installed, and that such alterations,
14 reconstruction or purchase and installation of equipment will
15 be made with funds not necessary for the completion of
16 approved and recommended projects contained in any safety
17 survey report or amendment thereto authorized by Section
18 2-3.12 of this Act and will deter and prevent unauthorized
19 entry or activities upon school property by unknown or
20 dangerous persons, assure early detection and advance warning
21 of any such actual or attempted unauthorized entry or
22 activities and help assure the continued safety of pupils and
23 school staff if any such unauthorized entry or activity is
24 attempted or occurs; or if a school district does not need
25 funds for other fire prevention and safety projects,
26 including the completion of approved and recommended projects
27 contained in any safety survey report or amendments thereto
28 authorized by Section 2-3.12 of this Act, and it is
29 determined after a public hearing (which is preceded by at
30 least one published notice (i) occurring at least 7 days
31 prior to the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation
32 within the school district and (ii) setting forth the time,
33 date, place, and general subject matter of the hearing) that
34 there is a substantial, immediate, and otherwise unavoidable
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1 threat to the health, safety, or welfare of pupils due to
2 disrepair of school sidewalks, playgrounds, parking lots, or
3 school bus turnarounds and repairs must be made: then in any
4 such event, such district may, by proper resolution, levy a
5 tax for the purpose of making such alteration or
6 reconstruction, based on a survey report by an architect or
7 engineer licensed in the State of Illinois, upon all the
8 taxable property of the district at the value as assessed by
9 the Department of Revenue at a rate not to exceed .05% per
10 year for a period sufficient to finance such alterations,
11 repairs, or reconstruction, upon the following conditions:
12 (a) When there are not sufficient funds available
13 in either the operations and maintenance fund of the
14 district or the fire prevention and safety fund of the
15 district as determined by the district on the basis of
16 regulations adopted by the State Board of Education to
17 make such alterations, repairs, or reconstruction, or to
18 purchase and install such permanent fixed equipment so
19 ordered or determined as necessary. Appropriate school
20 district records shall be made available to the State
21 Superintendent of Education upon request to confirm such
22 insufficiency.
23 (b) When a certified estimate of an architect or
24 engineer licensed in the State of Illinois stating the
25 estimated amount necessary to make the alterations or
26 repairs, or to purchase and install such equipment so
27 ordered has been secured by the district, and the
28 estimate has been approved by the regional superintendent
29 of schools, having jurisdiction of the district, and the
30 State Superintendent of Education. Approval shall not be
31 granted for any work that has already started without the
32 prior express authorization of the State Superintendent
33 of Education. If such estimate is not approved or denied
34 approval by the regional superintendent of schools within
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1 3 months after the date on which it is submitted to him
2 or her, the school board of the district may submit such
3 estimate directly to the State Superintendent of
4 Education for approval or denial.
5 For purposes of this Section a school district may
6 replace a school building or build additions to replace
7 portions of a building when it is determined that the
8 effectuation of the recommendations for the existing building
9 will cost more than the replacement costs. Such
10 determination shall be based on a comparison of estimated
11 costs made by an architect or engineer licensed in the State
12 of Illinois. The new building or addition shall be
13 equivalent in area (square feet) and comparable in purpose
14 and grades served and may be on the same site or another
15 site. Such replacement may only be done upon order of the
16 regional superintendent of schools and the approval of the
17 State Superintendent of Education.
18 The filing of a certified copy of the resolution levying
19 the tax when accompanied by the certificates of the regional
20 superintendent of schools and State Superintendent of
21 Education shall be the authority of the county clerk to
22 extend such tax.
23 The county clerk of the county in which any school
24 district levying a tax under the authority of this Section is
25 located, in reducing raised levies, shall not consider any
26 such tax as a part of the general levy for school purposes
27 and shall not include the same in the limitation of any other
28 tax rate which may be extended.
29 Such tax shall be levied and collected in like manner as
30 all other taxes of school districts, subject to the
31 provisions contained in this Section.
32 The tax rate limit specified in this Section may be
33 increased to .10% upon the approval of a proposition to
34 effect such increase by a majority of the electors voting on
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1 that proposition at a regular scheduled election. Such
2 proposition may be initiated by resolution of the school
3 board and shall be certified by the secretary to the proper
4 election authorities for submission in accordance with the
5 general election law.
6 When taxes are levied by any school district for fire
7 prevention, safety, energy conservation, and school security
8 purposes as specified in this Section, and the purposes for
9 which the taxes have been levied are accomplished and paid in
10 full, and there remain funds on hand in the Fire Prevention
11 and Safety Fund from the proceeds of the taxes levied,
12 including interest earnings thereon, the school board by
13 resolution shall use such excess and other board restricted
14 funds excluding bond proceeds and earnings from such proceeds
15 (1) for other authorized fire prevention, safety, energy
16 conservation, and school security purposes or (2) for
17 transfer to the Operations and Maintenance Fund for the
18 purpose of abating an equal amount of operations and
19 maintenance purposes taxes. If any transfer is made to the
20 Operation and Maintenance Fund, the secretary of the school
21 board shall within 30 days notify the county clerk of the
22 amount of that transfer and direct the clerk to abate the
23 taxes to be extended for the purposes of operations and
24 maintenance authorized under Section 17-2 of this Act by an
25 amount equal to such transfer.
26 If the proceeds from the tax levy authorized by this
27 Section are insufficient to complete the work approved under
28 this Section, the school board is authorized to sell bonds
29 without referendum under the provisions of this Section in an
30 amount that, when added to the proceeds of the tax levy
31 authorized by this Section, will allow completion of the
32 approved work.
33 Such bonds shall bear interest at a rate not to exceed
34 the maximum rate authorized by law at the time of the making
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1 of the contract, shall mature within 20 years from date, and
2 shall be signed by the president of the school board and the
3 treasurer of the school district.
4 In order to authorize and issue such bonds, the school
5 board shall adopt a resolution fixing the amount of bonds,
6 the date thereof, the maturities thereof, rates of interest
7 thereof, place of payment and denomination, which shall be in
8 denominations of not less than $100 and not more than $5,000,
9 and provide for the levy and collection of a direct annual
10 tax upon all the taxable property in the school district
11 sufficient to pay the principal and interest on such bonds to
12 maturity. Upon the filing in the office of the county clerk
13 of the county in which the school district is located of a
14 certified copy of the resolution, it is the duty of the
15 county clerk to extend the tax therefor in addition to and in
16 excess of all other taxes heretofore or hereafter authorized
17 to be levied by such school district.
18 After the time such bonds are issued as provided for by
19 this Section, if additional alterations or reconstructions
20 are required to be made because of surveys conducted by an
21 architect or engineer licensed in the State of Illinois, the
22 district may levy a tax at a rate not to exceed .05% per year
23 upon all the taxable property of the district or issue
24 additional bonds, whichever action shall be the most
25 feasible.
26 This Section is cumulative and constitutes complete
27 authority for the issuance of bonds as provided in this
28 Section notwithstanding any other statute or law to the
29 contrary.
30 With respect to instruments for the payment of money
31 issued under this Section either before, on, or after the
32 effective date of Public Act 86-004 (June 6, 1989), it is,
33 and always has been, the intention of the General Assembly
34 (i) that the Omnibus Bond Acts are, and always have been,
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1 supplementary grants of power to issue instruments in
2 accordance with the Omnibus Bond Acts, regardless of any
3 provision of this Act that may appear to be or to have been
4 more restrictive than those Acts, (ii) that the provisions of
5 this Section are not a limitation on the supplementary
6 authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts, and (iii) that
7 instruments issued under this Section within the
8 supplementary authority granted by the Omnibus Bond Acts are
9 not invalid because of any provision of this Act that may
10 appear to be or to have been more restrictive than those
11 Acts.
12 When the purposes for which the bonds are issued have
13 been accomplished and paid for in full and there remain funds
14 on hand from the proceeds of the bond sale and interest
15 earnings therefrom, the board shall, by resolution, use such
16 excess funds in accordance with the provisions of Section
17 10-22.14 of this Act.
18 Whenever any tax is levied or bonds issued for fire
19 prevention, safety, energy conservation, and school security
20 purposes, such proceeds shall be deposited and accounted for
21 separately within the Fire Prevention and Safety Fund.
22 (Source: P.A. 88-251; 88-508; 88-628, eff. 9-9-94; 88-670,
23 eff. 12-2-94; 89-235, eff. 8-4-95; 89-397, eff. 8-20-95.)