Iowa Code r. 281-96.5 - Review process
(1)
Task force. The department will form a task force to review
applications for certificate of need and to provide recommendations to the
SBRC. The department will invite participants from large, medium, and small
school districts, the state fire marshal's office, education and professional
organizations, or other individuals knowledgeable in school infrastructure and
construction issues. The department, in consultation with the task force, will
establish the parameters and criteria for awarding certificates of need based
on information listed in Iowa Code section
423E.4(5),
which includes consideration of the following:
a. Enrollment trends in the grades that will
be served at the new construction site.
b. The cost-benefit analysis of remodeling,
reconstructing, or repairing existing buildings.
c. The fire and health safety needs of the
school district.
d. The distance,
convenience, cost of transportation, and accessibility of the new construction
site to the students to be served at the new construction site.
e. Unavailability of alternative, less
costly, or more effective means of serving the needs of the students.
f. The financial condition of the school
district, including the effect of the budget adjustment and unspent
balance.
g. Broad and long-term
ability of the school district to support the facility and the quality of the
academic program.
h. Cooperation
with other educational entities including other school districts, area
education agencies, postsecondary institutions, and local
communities.
(2)
Task force review. The task force, or a subcommittee of the
task force, and its designees, will review each application and make
recommendations to the school budget review committee regarding approval of
certificates of need based on the evidence provided by the applicant pursuant
to subrule 96.4(2) and the criteria listed in subrule 96.5(1). More than one
member of the task force or subcommittee of the task force and its designees
shall review each application. A reviewer will not review any application in
which the reviewer has a conflict of interest.
(3)
Approval process.
Applications will be reviewed and recommended for approval or denial based on
any or all of the following individual or collective criteria, with each
applicable criterion scored on a scale of zero to ten. Applicable scores will
be averaged. Nonapplicable criteria will not be used in determining the average
score. An application shall have a minimum average score of five to be eligible
to be recommended for approval. If an application receives a score of zero on
one or more applicable criteria, the application will not be recommended for
approval. A recommendation for approval by the task force does not constitute
final approval of the application. The following categories on the application
will be evaluated and scored:
a.
Infrastructure needs the project proposes to alleviate. Special consideration
shall be given to infrastructure needs that relate to fire or health safety
issues.
b. Evidence that
remodeling, reconstructing, or repairing the existing buildings is not
feasible.
c. Unavailability of
alternative, less costly, or more effective means of serving student
needs.
d. Improvement of
transportation distance, convenience, cost and accessibility with the new
construction.
e. Sustainable
financial condition and long-term financial stability of the school
district.
f. Evidence that the
proposed project will improve educational opportunities for students and enable
the school district to meet or exceed educational standards.
g. Current comprehensive, districtwide
infrastructure plan and the description of how this project fits within that
plan.
h. Description of
collaboration with one or more other public or private entities.
(4)
Ineligibility for
approval. If either of the following two descriptions applies to the
school district, the school district is not eligible for a certificate of need
unless a feasibility study conducted within the past three years pursuant to
Iowa Code section 256.9(30) and
the AEA plan pursuant to Iowa Code sections
275.1 through
275.4 determine that sharing,
reorganization, or dissolution is not feasible for the school district.
a. The current enrollment or any of the five
years of projected enrollments for the school district is fewer than 250
students.
b. The current enrollment
or any of the five years of projected enrollments for the school district for
grades 9 through 12 is fewer than a total of 100 students, if a high school
building is the subject of the application.
(5)
School budget review
committee. The SBRC will review the recommendations from the task
force for approval of certificates of need and make recommendations on approval
to the department for final consideration.
Notes
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