Related Capital Budget Programs.
The capital budget appropriates funding to assist school districts with the costs of school construction and other capital costs through several statutory programs, as well as through uncodified provisos in the capital budget bill. In the 2021-23 Capital Budget, the three largest such appropriations are for: (a) the School Construction Assistance Program; (b) the Small District and Tribal Compact Schools Modernization Program; and (c) the School Seismic Safety Grant Program. There are also several smaller, uncodified capital budget grant programs that provide funding for purposes such as urgent and emergency repairs, physical health and nutrition equipment grants, and grants related to career and technical equipment, among others.
The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OPSI) is authorized to administer a School Safety Capital Grant (SSCG) program.
Eligibility.
Eligibility is limited to school safety projects that make physical improvements intended to advance the safety or security of a school facility. Examples of eligible project types include, but are not limited to: (a) design and construction of security vestibules; (b) purchase and installation of metal detectors, facility key card access, remote door access, or panic buttons; (c) fencing; (d) lighting; and (e) crime prevention through environmental design projects. Projects must have a total estimated project cost of $1 million or less.
Common schools, state-tribal education compact schools, and charter schools are eligible to apply for grants through the program. For charter schools, the OSPI may award grants only from funding sources other than the common school construction fund. Prior to receiving funding, applicants for a grant through this program must demonstrate that the project site is under their control for a minimum of 10 years, either through ownership or a long-term lease.
Use of Grants.
Grantees must use the program grants to incorporate, to the extent applicable to the type of project, crime prevention through environmental design principles.
Application process.
Subject to appropriation, the OSPI is required to develop a competitive grant application process and to assist eligible applicants in matters related to applying for school safety capital grants. The OSPI is required to award school safety capital grants on a competitive basis and to adopt rules for this purpose.
Administration.
In contracts for school safety capital grants, the OSPI must include provisions that require that capital improvements be held by the grantee for a specified period of time appropriate to the amount of the grant and that facilities be used for the express purpose of the grant. If the OSPI finds the grantee to be out of compliance with provisions of the contract, the grantee is required to repay the amount of the grant award to the appropriate state fund, as determined by the OSPI. If the source of grant funding was general obligation bonds, then the repayment required for grant noncompliance must be made to the state general fund and must include the principal amount of the grant plus interest calculated at the rate of interest on the state general obligation bonds issued most closely to the date of authorization of the grant. The OSPI may use up to three percent of amounts appropriated for the SSCG program for administrative costs.
Matching funding.
The OSPI will generally require SSCG program grantees to provide matching nonstate funding equal to at least 100 percent of the state grant award. However, the OSPI must reduce this percentage for applicants that have more than the statewide average percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals. When determining a reduced nonstate match for this program, the OSPI is required to reduce the nonstate match only by the amount it deems necessary to enable the applicant's participation in the grant program. However, a grantee receiving a reduced match must provide a minimum nonstate match of at least 25 percent of the total estimated project cost.