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April 2014

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SchoolWorks April Newsletter
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It is April already and before we know it this school year will be over.  We are looking forward to spring break and getting more information shortly about the latest fund releases for projects in line for funding for State Building Projects.

 

This newsletter contains the latest info on the Education Technology Voucher Program along with services we are offering for the Prop 39 - Clean Energy Jobs Act and notes from the SAB meeting on March 26. 

 

Thanks to everyone who made it to the annual conferences this year and were able to visit with us.  We had a great time in Monterey at the Superintendents Symposium and look forward to the CASBO and SSDA conferences in April.
Education Technology Voucher Program

On March 4th, 2014 the California Department of Education announced another $188.4 million has been distributed to California school districts for the Education Technology K-12 Voucher Program.  These funds are to be used for implementing and supporting education technology.  This will be helpful for those still working on getting ready for the new testing requirements associated with LCFF and Common Core.  There is a link on our website to the Voucher Program to find out the current balance for your school district.  Please contact us with any questions  about how to access these funds.  The deadline for requesting reimbursement under this program has been extended to September 25, 2015.  The general purpose grants can be used for computers, tablets and other hardware and services while the software grants must be used for software.

 

Link : www.SchoolWorksGIS.com
Prop 39 - Clean Energy Jobs Act
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The Prop 39 Energy Efficiency Funds can now be requested for eligible projects.  The process can be challenging in terms of finding projects with the right amount of savings to generate the necessary paybacks.  To help plan a successful program, SchoolWorks is offering assistance to Districts to both oversee the process and create an Energy Plan that will be able to utilize the funding that will be allocated over the entire 5 year program.  We are also offering assistance with the site surveys as needed in addition to filing the paperwork to request funding for projects.   This part of the process will be similar to the services we already provide for districts getting in line for the State Building Program.

 

The key to this process will be to maximize resources and minimize any losses in Prop 39 funding opportunities by combining the Prop 39 projects with other projects the District has planned such as modernization projects and bond projects or even deferred maintenance projects.

 

As I have stated before, this is not a competitive grant, but the grants are allocated on an annual basis.  So creating a plan for the use of the funds for each year will help prevent a loss of funding by verifying that the projects for all five years meet the funding requirements and project guidelines.

 

Please contact our office if you have any specific questions or issues on Prop 39 projects and funding opportunities.  

State Allocation Board Meeting Notes

The SAB held a meeting on March 26th to approve projects and discuss funding issues.  The next SAB meeting will be a consent only agenda and will be held on April 7th.  This is a special meeting to award apportionments for projects in the current priority funding round.  The SAB will be allocating $372.2 million it received from the Spring bond sales.

 

At this meeting, there was a big discussion on the implementation of a priority funding process for ORG, CTE and Charter projects.  These programs were previously not subject to the priority funding process.  The Board did decide to add this requirement to those programs.  However, it will take some time for the new regulations to be adopted and go into effect.

 

The SAB did approve the consent items from the agenda.

 

There was one appeal item for Cinnabar that was approved.  This project had been rescinded due to a document that was not filed on time to meet the labor compliance requirements.  However, it was restored at a lower funding rate as the phase of the project that was impacted by the paperwork error was only a small portion of the total project.

 

One of the action items approved was the ongoing operational funding for the State Building Program. This  funding does come out of the bond funds and therefore reduces the amounts available for projects.

 

In terms of the financial status of the State Building Program, there are now $896.3 million in projects on the unfunded list that are in line for funding once the cash becomes available from the Treasurers office.  In addition there are also projects in line that currently exceed bond authority.  These projects total $806.5 million and may need to wait for a future State bond unless there are project savings or some of the existing projects are cancelled and rescinded.

 

The one theme heard during this meeting was the need to get the money available awarded to projects that are ready for construction so the jobs can be created.  It was obvious that the creation of jobs and the continuing recovery of the economy is important to the SAB members.  This is just another reason that there should be support for a bond measure in 2014.

State Bond in 2014

A State bond opportunity for November 2014 is still in the works.  I am still hopeful an agreement will be reached to get the support needed to get a bill passed in the legislature.  The current bill includes language that would require all districts to re-establish their baseline capacity for both modernization and new construction projects.  This is to provide certainty that districts are indeed still eligible for their projects.  It helps answer some of the concerns that the dollars in this program are going to the projects that are needed today.  Another item in the proposed bill is to allow flexibility with school designs for alternative learning environments that may be implemented as a part of Common Core.

 

There is still a need for additional funds to support the State Building Program and there are many schools needing major modernization work due to the aging facilities in California and the reality that many facilities were not properly maintained during the recession. 

 

Any information regarding the possible size of a bond or any other changes in the bond language will be provided as we learn more in the next few months
Facility Master Plan

SchoolWorks has been assisting several District's with creating or updating their facility master plans.  We have worked as a part of a team on most projects but can also work directly with the District depending on the scope of the project.  Since facility issues need to be identified and prioritized for inclusion in setting the goals under the LCFF it would be a great time to consider this process if you haven't already.  Our master plans typically include a demographic analysis to determine future facility needs in addition to a facility assessment to determine existing facility deficiencies.  It is also advisable to consider the impacts of changing educational programs and goals to make sure your facilities are ready for the future.  This has included a comprehensive look at technology infrastructure in many of our recent projects.  Finally, a key component in our master plans is identifying and understanding the cash flow of any and all available resources such as developer fees, State Building Program grants, Prop 39, local bonds, COP's and any other State, Federal or local opportunities available.

I hope you all enjoy your spring break. 

Sincerely,
Ken
Ken Reynolds
SchoolWorks, Inc.

Ph: 916-733-0402

 6815 Fair Oaks Blvd. #3 Carmichael, CA 95662

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