Rhode Island § 16-105-8 - School Building Authority

§ 16-105-8. School building authority advisory board established.

(a) There is hereby established a school building authority advisory board that shall advise the school building authority regarding the best use of the school building authority capital fund, including the setting of statewide priorities, criteria for project approval, and recommendations for project approval and prioritization.

(b) The school building authority advisory board shall consist of seven (7) members as follows:

(1) The general treasurer, or designee;

(2) The director of the department of administration, who shall serve as chair;

(3) The chair of the Rhode Island health and educational building corporation; and

(4) Four (4) members of the public, appointed by the governor, and who serve at the pleasure of the governor, each of whom shall have expertise in education and/or construction, real estate, or finance. At least one of these four (4) members shall represent a local education agency and at least one of these four (4) members shall be an educator.

(c) In addition to the purposes in subsection (a), the school building authority advisory board shall advise the school building authority on, including but not limited to, the following:

(1) The project priorities for the school building authority capital fund;

(2) Legislation as it may deem desirable or necessary related to the school building authority capital fund and the school housing aid program set forth in §§ 16-7-35 to 16-7-47;

(3) Policies and procedures designed to reduce borrowing for school construction programs at both state and local levels;

(4) Development of a formal enrollment projection model or consideration of using projection models already available;

(5) Processes and procedures necessary to apply for, receive, administer, and comply with the conditions and requirements respecting any grant, gift, or appropriation of property, services, or monies;

(6) The collection and maintenance of a clearinghouse of prototypical school plans which may be consulted by eligible applicants and recommend incentives to utilize these prototypes;

(7) The determination of eligible cost components of projects for funding or reimbursement, including partial or full eligibility for project components for which the benefit is shared between the school and other municipal and community entities;

(8) Development of a long-term capital plan in accordance with needs and projected funding;

(9) Collection and maintenance of data on all the public school facilities in the state, including information on size, usage, enrollment, available facility space, and maintenance;

(10) Advising districts on the conduct of a needs survey to ascertain the capital construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and other capital needs for schools across the state;

(11) The recommendation of policies, rules, and regulations that move the state toward a pay-as-you-go funding system for school construction programs; and

(12) Encouraging local education agencies to investigate opportunities for the maximum utilization of space in and around the district.