STATUS: A8370 Hoyt No Same as Education Law TITLE....

Relates to providing for charter school facilities aid

06/15/11 referred to education

SUMMARY: Bill Summary Information Not Found BILL TEXT:

STATE OF NEW YORK

________________________________________________________________________ 8370 2011-2012 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY
June 15, 2011 ___________ Introduced by Committee on Education charter school facilities aid The Assembly, do enact as follows: 1 2858 2 3 be 4 for 5 the 6 construction, acquisition, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement 7 of any charter school building used for instruction; for approved current year approved expenditures for debt service relating to eligible to receive an apportionment pursuant to this section to read as follows: 2858. Charter schools facilities aid. 1. Charter schools shall Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and M. of A. HOYT -- read once and referred to the

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to providing for

8 aida-

expenditures for capital outlays for such purposes, which shall be

9 ble as debt service through an assumed amortization to the same extent 10 and under the same conditions as school district capital outlays pursu11 ant to subdivision six of section thirty-six hundred two of this chap12 ter; for annual payments to the dormitory authority pursuant to any 13 lease, sublease or other agreement relating to the financing or refi14 nancing of an eligible charter school construction project under the 15 provisions of section sixteen hundred eighty of the public authorities 16 law, and for current year approved expenditures for lease, leasepur17 chase or other annual payments to a school district or person, partner18 ship or corporation for a charter school building used for instruction. 19 Approved expenditures for the lease or other annual payments shall not 20 include the costs of heat, electricity, water or other utilities or the 21 costs of operation or maintenance of the leased facility. An apportion22 ment shall be available pursuant to this subdivision for construction, 23 reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement in a building, or portion 24 thereof, being leased by a charter school only if the lease is for a 25 term of at least ten years subsequent to the date of the general EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD1304001-1 A. 8370 2 1 construction contract for such construction, reconstruction, rehabili2 tation or improvement. 3 2. The apportionment pursuant to this section shall be computed in 4 accordance with subdivision six of section thirty-six hundred two of 5 this chapter, as modified by this section, and all the requirements of 6 such subdivision six shall apply, except that a five-year capital facil7 ities plan shall not be required as a condition of aid. In computing

8 such apportionment, the aid ratio for the charter school shall be deemed 9 to be the aid ratio of the district in which the charter school is 10 located, and the assumed interest rate for bonds or notes issued by the 11 charter school shall be the interest rate computed pursuant to clause 12 (b) of subparagraph five of paragraph e of subdivision six of section 13 thirty-six hundred two of this chapter. 14 3. The commissioner shall be authorized to pay up to seventy percent 15 of the sum appropriated for purposes of this section prior to April 16 first of the school year for which such monies are available, with the 17 remainder payable on or after such date. 18 4. Where an apportionment is paid to a charter school pursuant to this 19 section based on an assumed amortization, and the charter school's char20 ter is revoked or is not renewed or the charter school otherwise closes 21 prior to the end of the period of assumed amortization, the state shall 22 have a lien on the charter school building in the full amount of the aid 23 paid pursuant to this section and any transfer of such building to a 24 school district or another charter school upon dissolution of the char25 ter school shall be subject to the state's lien. Notwithstanding any 26 provision of law to the contrary, upon request by the attorney general, 27 the court in a proceeding pursuant to section two hundred twenty of this 28 chapter shall be authorized to direct the sale of such school building 29 in order to pay off the lien of the state. 30 5. Any capital improvements made in a charter school financed with 31 charter school facilities aid, stimulus funds or any other source of 32 state funding shall be deemed to be a public works project for the 33 purposes of article eight of the labor law, and all the provisions of 34 article eight of the labor law shall be applicable to the construction 35 work involved in the construction of such capital improvements, and any 36 contract entered into by the charter school for such capital improve37 ments shall contain a clause to that effect, and if no such clause is

38 the 39 such 40 41

contained

in

such

contract,

the courts, in any action to enforce law with reference to

provisions of article eight of the labor

contract, shall deem such clause to be incorporated in such contract. 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

SPONSORS MEMO: NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(e)
BILL NUMBER: A8370 SPONSOR: Hoyt TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the education law, in relation to providing for charter school facilities aid PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: Charter schools in NYS currently receive operating aid but no facilities aid from the State. The resources that charter schools receive are less than the resources available to other public schools in the same school district. Charter schools are an important option in public education and this legislation will allow for these schools to receive charter facilities aid so that children are learning in the most conducive environment possible and that all charter school operating funds are going towards the student's education. SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1 amends education law by adding a new section 2858 that allows Charter schools to be eligible to receive current year approved expenditures for debt service relating to the construction, acquisition, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement of any charter school building used for instruction. Paragraph 2 of section 2858 as amended will allow for the apportionment to be computed in accordance with subdivision six of section thirty six hundred two of this chapter and all the requirements of subdivision six shall apply except that a five year capital facilities plan shall not be required as a condition of aid. Paragraph 3 states the commissioner shall be authorized to pay up to seventy percent of the sum appropriated for purposes of this section prior to April first of the school year for which such monies are available, with the remainder payable on or after such date. Paragraph 4 states that if a charter school closes or has there license revoked the state will file a lien on the charter school building in the full amount of the aid and that the court in accordance with section two hundred twenty of this chapter will be directed to sell the facility to pay off the state's lien. Paragraph 5 Any capital improvements made in a charter school financed

with charter school facilities aid, stimulus funds, or any other state funding will be considered a public works project and subject to all the provisions of article eight of the labor law. Section 2 is the effective date. JUSTIFICATION: By law, charter schools are public schools in New York State. Their students are public school students, and they use public funds to educate the students they enroll. Despite this fact, the law does not provide public charter schools with the capital financing that other public schools receive. As a result, public charter schools must use funds intended for instruction on their capital needs, thus reducing the quality of the education their students receive. In New York City, the lack of capital funding for public charter schools has forced them to share space in Department of Education buildings. This solution, while justified given their public school status, has lead to many community disputes over how space is to be shared and which buildings should be used for such "co-locations." To provide public charter school students with the funding their schools are entitled to, the state of New York should provide public charter schools with access to the same capital financing options as traditional public schools. The children in public charter schools are no less worthy of this support, and doing so would greatly reduce, if not eliminate, the need for alternative arrangements that have caused so much community unrest. PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: This is a new bill FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: To be determined EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately