N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:26-1.2
The following words and terms shall have the following meanings when used in this chapter unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"24-hour school facilities" mean facilities that host residents on site year round, require the availability of water at all hours, employ staff on site 24 hours a day, and/or are care facilities, such as hospitals with educational programs provided at the facilities.
"Additional costs" means the additional construction costs beyond the area cost allowance for construction or the costs beyond reasonable estimated actual costs for rehabilitation if such costs are the result of factors outside the control of the school district, provided that either type of costs results from design factors that are required to meet the facilities efficiency standards and are approved or authorized pursuant to 18A:7G-5(g).
"Additional space" means space in excess of facilities efficiency standards.
"Adjusted gross square footage" means the gross square footage of a facility less excluded spaces.
"Annual maintenance budget amount" means the amount required to be included in the school district's annual budget certified for taxes as a deposit into the maintenance reserve account or in the required maintenance line-item accounts.
"Application for State School Aid" or "ASSA" means the application filed pursuant to 18A:7F-33, on a form issued by the Commissioner, in which a school district sets forth student enrollment by category and other pertinent information.
"Approved area for unhoused students" means the product of the area allowance per FTE student times the number of unhoused students.
"Approved LRFP" or "approved plan" means an LRFP that conforms to the requirements of N.J.A.C. 6A:26-2 and that has been determined by a Commissioner's final determination to ensure the school facilities are educationally adequate to support over the next five years the achievement of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards.
"Area allowance per FTE student" means 125 square feet for preschool through grade five, 134 square feet for grades six through eight, and 151 square feet for grades nine through 12.
"Area cost allowance" means as set forth in 18A:7G-3.
"Building system" means a set of related or similar building components that work together to perform a major function in a building or facility.
"Capital maintenance" means maintenance intended to extend the useful life of a school facility, including upgrades and replacements of building systems, such as structure, enclosure, mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems, and can be considered to constitute or be part of a school facilities project.
"Capital project" means a school facilities project, other capital project or land acquisition project.
"Capital reserve account" means as defined in 6A:23A-1.2.
"Certified laboratory" means a laboratory certified pursuant to the provisions of N.J.A.C. 7:18.
"Comprehensive Annual Financial Report" or "CAFR" means the official annual report of a governmental unit that includes all funds and account groups, as defined in N.J.A.C. 6A:23A-1.2.
"Comprehensive maintenance plan" means a school district's multi-year maintenance plan covering required maintenance activities for each school facility in the school district adopted pursuant to this chapter.
"Cost index" means the average annual increase, expressed as a decimal, in actual construction cost factors for the New York City and Philadelphia areas during the second fiscal year preceding the budget year as determined pursuant to rules promulgated by the Development Authority.
"County vocational school district" means a county vocational school district established pursuant to 18A:54-1 et seq.
"Debt service" means as set forth in 18A:7G-3.
"Development Authority" means the New Jersey Schools Development Authority established pursuant to 52:18A-237.
"District aid percentage" means the number, expressed as a percentage derived from dividing the school district's equalization aid calculated pursuant to 18A:7F-53 as of the date of the Commissioner's determination of preliminary eligible costs by the school district's adequacy budget calculated pursuant to 18A:7F-51 as of the date of the Commissioner's determination of preliminary eligible costs.
"District board of education" means the local board of education or State district superintendent in the case of a State-operated district.
"District factor group" means an index of socioeconomic status established by the Department of Education based upon indicators available in the decennial census. School districts are arranged in 10 groups, DFG A through DFG J, A being the group with the lowest socioeconomic status, J the highest.
"Division" means the Department's Division of Administration and Finance.
"Drinking water outlet" means any location at a school facility, other facility, or temporary facility, as those terms are defined in this section, where water is expected to be used for consumption or food preparation.
"Educational adequacy" means, for purposes of a school facilities project, the suitability of a facility to provide instruction that will enable students to achieve the New Jersey Student Learning Standards and will encompass the facilities efficiency standards combined with the requirements of N.J.A.C. 6A:26-5.
"Educational space" means any space in a school facility for general instruction, specialized instruction, administration or student services and support.
"Emergency stabilization" means actions taken by a school district to correct and eliminate an actual or imminent peril to the health and safety of students or staff designed to render a school facility fit for occupancy by students or staff.
"Emergent condition" means a condition is so injurious or hazardous that it causes an imminent peril to the health and safety of students and staff.
"Emergent project" means a capital project necessitating expedited review and, if applicable, approval, in order to alleviate a condition that, if not corrected on an expedited basis, would render a building or facility so potentially injurious or hazardous that it causes an imminent peril to the health and safety of students or staff.
"Estimated actual costs" means costs as determined pursuant to 6A:26-2.3 or 3.4.
"Excess costs" means as set forth in 18A:7G-3.
"Excluded space" is an existing space that is not contained in the facilities efficiency standards but may be included in a school district's approved room inventory that would be structurally or fiscally impractical to convert to other uses in the facilities efficiency standards as demonstrated by the school district and that:
1. Delivers programs and services aligned to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards; or
2. Provides support services directly to students.
"Facilities efficiency standards" means the standards developed by the Commissioner pursuant to 18A:7G-4.
"Feasibility study" means a study undertaken to determine whether a school facilities project is achievable in view of possible identified factors that may influence the project's design or construction, including, but not limited to, applicable Federal, State and local laws; physical site conditions; market conditions; and costs and benefits. For example, such a study may be a pre-construction evaluation undertaken by a school district to determine whether it would be more feasible to replace rather than renovate a school facility because of health and safety or efficiency. It may also consist of a pre-land acquisition evaluation to determine whether it would be more feasible to acquire land for a school facilities project because of health and safety, efficiency, environmental factors, physical site conditions, or cost.
"Filing year" means the year in which the comprehensive maintenance plan is filed with the executive county superintendent.
"Final eligible costs" means as set forth in 18A:7G-3.
"Final plans and specifications" means the plans and specifications utilized to bid a capital project and to undertake and complete its construction.
"FTE" means as set forth in 18A:7G-3.
"Functional capacity" means the number of students that can be housed in a building to provide sufficient space for the building to be educationally adequate for the delivery of programs and services necessary for student achievement of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. Functional capacity is determined by dividing the adjusted gross square footage of a school facility by the minimum area allowance per FTE student for the grade level students contained therein.
"Grant cycle" means the amount of annual funding available, as determined by the Commissioner, for section 15 grants for school facilities projects in RODs, other than county vocational school districts.
"Gross square footage" means the total square footage of a school facility.
"Inconsistent space" means spaces that differ from the facilities efficiency standards in number, configuration, size, location, or use.
"Land acquisition" means an acquisition of land, whether by purchase, condemnation, or by gift or grant, to be used as a school site. Land acquisition is either an eligible cost of a school facilities project or an other capital project not eligible for funding pursuant to EFCFA.
"Lead action level" means the lead action level established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency at 40 CFR 141.80 for lead in drinking water.
"Lease-purchase agreement" means any agreement under which the school district leases equipment or school facilities as the lessee, and gives the school district the option of purchasing the leased property during or upon termination of the lease with credit toward the purchase price for all or part of rental payments that have been made by the school district in accordance with the lease-purchase agreement.
"Lease-purchase payment" means as set forth in 18A:7G-3.
"Local funding" means the funds supplied by a school district to finance the total costs of an other capital project.
"Local portion" means the amount of school bonds issued for a school facilities project funded under 18A:7G-9 or 10.
"Local share" means as set forth in 18A:7G-3.
"Local support" means the local share or the local portion.
"Long-range facilities plan" or "LRFP" means the plan required to be submitted to the Commissioner by a school district pursuant to 18A:7G-4.
"Maintenance reserve fund" means the account established by a school district pursuant to 18A:7G-13 into which it deposits monies to be used exclusively for required maintenance of school facilities.
"New construction" means a school facilities project that consists of either:
1. New school facilities; and/or
2. Additions to school facilities characterized by an increase in the gross square footage of the school facility and that is necessary due to unhoused students.
"New Jersey Student Learning Standards" means the standards established pursuant to 18A:7F-4.a.
"Other allowable costs" means the cost of temporary facilities; site remediation; site development; acquisition of land/or other real property interest necessary to effectuate the school facilities project; fees for the services of design professionals, including architects, engineers, construction managers, and other design professionals; legal fees; permitting and plan review fees; financing costs; and the administrative costs of the Development Authority or the school district incurred in connection with the school facilities project.
"Other capital projects" means all projects, or portions thereof, that are 100 percent locally funded, including:
1. Capital projects for the construction or rehabilitation of other facilities;
2. Leased school facilities, other facilities or temporary school facilities, unless used as temporary space for a school facilities project in accordance with 6A:26-3.1 4, subject to Department review of the terms and conditions of the lease, in the case of school districts for which the State share of eligible costs for school facilities projects is 100 percent;
3. Eligible capital projects for which a school district is not seeking State support; and
4. Projects for which there are no costs eligible for State support.
"Other facilities" means athletic stadiums; swimming pools; any associated structures; or related equipment tied to such facilities, including, but not limited to, grandstands and night field lights, greenhouses, garages, facilities used for non-instructional or non-educational purposes, and any structure, building, or facility used solely for school administration.
"Preconstruction activities" means the activities that must be undertaken prior to completion and submission to the Department of a school facilities project application for approval and calculation of preliminary eligible costs. Such activities can include site analysis, acquisition of land, remediation, site development, feasibility studies, design work, and acquisition of and design work for temporary facilities.
"Preliminary eligible costs" means the initial eligible costs of a school facilities project, which shall be deemed to include the costs of construction and other allowable costs, as calculated pursuant to the formulas set forth in 18A:7G-7 after the completion of preconstruction activities.
"Priority project categories" means the categories specified in 6A:26-3.9(a) and 18.1.
"Project documents" means educational specifications, schematic plans, detailed plans and specifications, final plans and specifications, and other documents required for capital project review and approval by the Division.
"Quality Single Accountability Continuum" or "QSAC" means the monitoring and evaluation process of school districts pursuant to 18A:7A-10 et seq.
"Redevelopment entity" means an entity authorized by a municipal governing body to implement plans and carry out redevelopment projects in the municipality pursuant to the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, 40A:12A-1 et seq.
"Regular operating school district" or "ROD" means a school district other than an SDA district.
"Rehabilitation" means a school facilities project consisting of the reconstruction, remodeling, alteration, modernization, or repair of a school facility to keep the school facility functional for its original purpose or for new purposes and that does not increase the gross square footage of the school facility.
"Replacement cost" means the area cost allowance multiplied by the gross square footage of the building for the year specified in this chapter.
"Required maintenance" means, for purposes of determining "M" in the formula in 6A:26-3.8, specific maintenance activities required for system warranty purposes that are approved for repairs and replacements to keep a school facility open and safe for use or in its original condition - including repairs and replacements to a school facility's heating, lighting, ventilation, security and other fixtures to keep the facility or fixtures in effective working condition - and that does not consist of routine or capital maintenance. Required maintenance is not an eligible cost of a school facilities project.
"Room inventory" means a list of each general instructional, specialized instructional, administrative, and support space, and the sizes and numbers that would constitute a school facility adequate to support the achievement of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards by the projected student enrollment.
"Routine maintenance" means contracted custodial or janitorial services; expenditures for the cleaning of a school facility or its fixtures; the care and upkeep of grounds or parking lots; the cleaning of, or repairs and replacements to, movable furnishings or equipment; or other expenditures that are not required to maintain the original condition over the school facility's useful life. Routine maintenance is not an eligible cost of a school facilities project.
"School bonds" means as set forth in 18A:7G-3.
"School district" means a district board of education, including a local or regional school district established pursuant to 18A:8-1 et seq. or 18A:13-1 et seq.; a county special services school district established pursuant to article 8 of 18A:46-1 et seq.; a county vocational school district established pursuant to article 3 of 18A:54-1 et seq.; and a school district under full State intervention pursuant to 18A:7A-34 et seq.
"School enrollment" means the number of FTE students who are recorded in the school registers on the last school day prior to October 16 of the current school year, except that it shall not include FTE students in evening programs, post-graduate students, and post-secondary vocational students.
"School facility" means and includes any structure, building, or facility used wholly or in part for educational purposes by a school district and facilities that physically support the structures, buildings, and facilities, such as school district wastewater treatment, power generating and steam generating, but excludes other facilities as defined in this section.
"School facilities project" means the acquisition, demolition, construction, improvement, repair, alteration, modernization, renovation, reconstruction, or capital maintenance of all or any part of a school facility or any other personal property necessary for, or ancillary to, any school facility. School facilities project includes, but is not limited to, fixtures; furnishings and equipment; site acquisition; site development; services of design professionals such as engineers and architects; construction management; legal services; financing costs; and administrative costs and expenses incurred in connection with the project. To qualify as a school facilities project, the project must be new construction to meet the housing needs of unhoused students, or rehabilitation to keep a school facility functional for its original purpose or for a new purpose accomplished within the gross square footage of the original building. Maintenance projects intended solely to achieve the design life of a school facility and routine maintenance do not constitute school facilities projects.
"SDA district" means a school district that received education opportunity aid or preschool expansion aid in the 2007-2008 school year.
"Section 15 grant" means a grant of funds to be made pursuant to 18A:7G-15.
"Short-term notes" means temporary notes or loan bonds as described in 18A:24-3.
"Special education student" means a student receiving specific services pursuant to 18A:46-1 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 6A:14, Special Education.
"State debt service aid" means the amount of State aid determined pursuant to 18A:7G-9 for school bonds issued for school facilities projects approved by the Commissioner on or after July 18, 2000, in school districts that elect not to have the Development Authority or a redevelopment entity construct the project or that elect not to finance the project under 18A:7G-15; and the amount of State aid determined pursuant to 18A:7G-10 for school bonds or certificates of participation issued for school facilities projects approved by the Commissioner prior to July 18, 2000.
"State debt service aid percentage" means the district aid percentage or 40 percent, whichever is greater.
"State share" means as set forth in 18A:7G-3.
"State support" means the State share or State debt service aid.
"Temporary facility" means a facility used for educating students on a temporary basis while awaiting completion of a school facilities project that will permanently house students. It also means:
1. A facility reviewed and approved by the executive county superintendent and/or the Division as substandard prior to June 7, 2004, and a facility approved by the Division, as a temporary facility under the rules in effect on or after that date;
2. A facility not planned or constructed as a permanent school facility that is rented, leased, or otherwise acquired by a school district or a private school for the disabled for use by public school students; and
3. A temporary classroom unit, self-propelled van or other mobile unit, whether or not installed on a school district-owned school site.
"Total costs" means the final eligible costs plus excess costs, if any, for a school facilities project to be constructed by the Development Authority or a redevelopment entity or financed pursuant to 18A:7G-15; the total cost of the project as determined by the school district for a school facilities project not to be constructed by the Development Authority or a redevelopment entity or financed pursuant to 18A:7G-15, and the total costs of an other capital project as determined by the school district.
"Type I school district" means a school district established in a city, pursuant to 18A:9-2, where board members are appointed by the municipality, and where the governing body of the municipality issues school bonds for school district capital projects, pursuant to 18A:22-20 and 18A:24-11.
"Type II school district" means a school district established in a municipality other than a city, every consolidated school district, and every regional school district, pursuant to 18A:9-3, where board members are elected or appointed by the municipality, as applicable, and where the district board of education issues school bonds for school district capital projects in a school district without a board of school estimate, pursuant to 18A:24-12.
"Uniform Construction Code" or "UCC" means N.J.A.C. 5:23.
"Unhoused students" means the number of students in excess of the functional capacity of a school facility calculated pursuant to 6A:26-2.2(c).
"Useful life" means the applicable recovery period for depreciation purposes determined under Section 168 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. § 168 as amended and supplemented, and the applicable regulations.
N.J. Admin. Code § 6A:26-1.2