Or. Admin. Code § 581-027-0020

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 11, November 1, 2024

Section 581-027-0020 - Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching Program Application

(1) The Department shall create one application for Districts to apply for State Matching Grants from the Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching Account.

(2) The Department shall post the application on the Department's web page.

(3) The Department shall open applications for each Funding Cycle as follows:

(a) On the July 15 that precedes the November Funding Cycles in a biennium; and

(b) On the December 15 that precedes the May Funding Cycles in a biennium.

(4) If one of those dates falls on a weekend or holiday, then the application period will be opened the Friday preceding.

(5) Applicants must submit their application electronically. Districts may submit applications only for an open and current Funding Cycle. The Department will not accept applications for later Funding Cycles.

(6) If a District's application does not meet the application requirements:

(a) The Department may agree to an extension of time, but no more than sixty (60) days from the deadline for submission, for the District to correct the deficiencies; and

(b) The Department may allow the District to continue to apply to the OSCIM Program even if the additional time extends beyond the application window.

(7) If a District fails to make the corrections within the agreed upon time, the Department shall cancel the District's application and readjust the pre-election commitments made.

(8) A District that submits an application for a Funding Cycle may withdraw the application no later than sixty (60) days from the application deadline.

(9) A District that applies during a Funding Cycle but either fails to withdraw under subsection (8) or fails to pass a Local GO Bond may apply for the next consecutive Funding Cycle.

(10) A District that applies for two consecutive Funding Cycles and fails to pass a Local GO Bond shall wait one Funding Cycle before applying again.

(11) Districts that withdraw from a Funding Cycle under subsection (8) shall not have that Funding Cycle count against them under subsection (10).

(12) The Department shall:

(a) Rank complete applications from Districts for each Funding Cycle according to the Priority List formula;

(b) Make funding commitments to Districts with the highest ranking on the priority list until sixty-six percent (66%) of the available resources for that Funding Cycle are used;

(c) Make funding commitments to the remaining Districts in accordance to the First in Time process for that Funding Cycle.

(d) If a District receives a partial commitment in a Funding Cycle, the Department shall not round up that partial commitment by reducing funds available to other Funding Cycles.

(13) In order to promote equity across the state, the Department shall deem all applications received within a specified period of time for each Funding Cycle as being received at the same time.

(a) The Department shall establish the following periods for reception of applications:

(A) 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. will be the first application period; and

(B) 12:31 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. will be the second application period.

(b) All applications received during one of the above time periods will be deemed to have been received at the same time for purposes of awarding First in Time commitments.

(c) The Department shall commit First in Time funding to those applications received in the first period first. If there is funding remaining, then the Department shall commit the remaining funding to the second period.

(d) If the First in Time funding is insufficient to provide a commitment to all Districts within a given time period for that Funding Cycle, the Department shall randomly select the Districts by a lottery process to determine which Districts will receive an award commitment.

(e) The lottery process shall be determined by the Department.

(f) All lottery results are final.

(14) The Department shall notify Districts that receive a funding commitment from the Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching Account within two weeks of the close of the application period for a Funding Cycle.

(15) The Department shall post the eligibility and ranking of all Districts that applied during that Funding Cycle on the Department's website. Districts that applied but did not receive a commitment will be notified of where they fall on the Waitlist Ranking.

(16) All funding commitments are contingent upon the District subsequently Closing the required Local GO Bonds within nine (9) months of that Funding Cycle's bond election.

(17) Any Districts on the Waitlist Ranking may choose to seek voter approval for Local GO Bonds in that Funding Cycle with the understanding that State Matching Grant funds may become available for that Funding Cycle if a District that has received a commitment is unsuccessful in passing their Local GO Bonds.

(18) All funding commitments to Districts that successfully pass their Local GO Bonds in the Funding Cycle will be officially awarded a State Matching Grant upon the execution of a grant agreement prescribed by the Department.

(19) All funding commitments to Districts that are not successful in passing their Local GO Bonds will be recommitted to Districts that have successfully passed Local GO Bonds in that election in the following order:

(a) All Districts that received a partial commitment that passed a Local GO Bond will receive funding up to the full award.

(b) All Districts on the First in Time Waitlist Ranking that passed a Local GO Bond, will receive an award from the uncommitted First in Time funds.

(c) All Districts that received an award from the First in Time Waitlist Ranking will be removed from the Priority List Waitlist Ranking.

(d) All Districts remaining on the Priority List Waitlist Ranking that passed a Local GO Bond will receive any funds remaining from Districts that received a commitment, but failed to pass a Local GO Bond.

(20) Districts will have to reapply each Funding Cycle to receive a commitment for that Funding Cycle. A District will not be able to carry forward any commitments made in previous Funding Cycles.

(21) All decisions of the Department regarding the completeness of the application or ranking under either the Priority List or First in Time process are final.

(22) Any funding remaining after all awards have been made for a Funding Cycle shall be moved forward to the next Funding Cycle.

(23) If there are funds that remain available after the last election in a biennium, those funds will be distributed as follows:

(a) Districts with a partial commitment will be funded starting in order from the first election of the biennium;

(b) Districts that applied for the OSCIM Program and passed a Local GO Bond, but did not receive any funds will be funded starting in order from the first election of the biennium.

(24) When a state of emergency is declared pursuant to ORS 401.165 et. seq., the Department shall determine if the emergency will negatively impact a Funding Cycle and may:

(a) Change any application deadlines stated in (3) or OAR 581-027-0023(2) if the emergency interferes with Districts' abilities to submit the required documents by those deadlines; and

(b) Allow Districts to withdraw from the election during the affected Funding Cycle and hold their election during the next Funding Cycle.

(25) If Districts withdraw from the affected Funding Cycle, the Department may:

(a) Transfer funding commitments made to Districts during the affected Funding Cycle to the next Funding Cycle; and

(b) Apply the waitlist ranking of the affected Funding Cycle to the next Funding Cycle.

(26) The transfer of funding commitments and waitlist ranking made during the affected Funding Cycle do not impact or change funding commitments or waitlist ranking for the next Funding Cycle that have already been made by the Department.

(27) A District is considered to have withdrawn from an election when it sends its intention to withdraw from the election in writing to the Department.

(28) If multiple Funding Cycles are affected by the declared state of emergency, the Department shall review each Funding Cycle separately.

Or. Admin. Code § 581-027-0020

ODE 30-2016, f. & cert. ef. 4/28/2016; ODE 4-2017, f. & cert. ef. 3/1/2017; ODE 7-2017, f. & cert. ef. 6/1/2017; ODE 21-2019, amend filed 06/25/2019, effective 6/25/2019; ODE 16-2020, temporary amend filed 04/23/2020, effective 04/23/2020 through 10/19/2020; ODE 42-2020, amend filed 10/22/2020, effective 10/22/2020; ODE 16-2021, amend filed 05/25/2021, effective 5/25/2021; ODE 2-2024, amend filed 02/16/2024, effective 2/16/2024

Statutory/Other Authority: Sec. 2, 5, ORS 783 & SB 447 (2015)

Statutes/Other Implemented: SB 447 (2015) & Sec. 2, 4, 5, ORS 783