Section 20-40-18-10.5 - Use of a charter school's operations fund(a) This section applies only to eligible charter schools that receive amounts distributed under IC 20-46-8-11.2.(b) For purposes of this section, "charter board" means the governing body of the organizer (as defined in IC 20-24-1-7) of an eligible charter school.(c) The operations fund may be used only to do the following: (1) Carry out a capital projects plan under the following conditions: (A) The plan must include all proposed expenditures that exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and are for: (ii) projects that are considered capital in nature, including technology related projects.(B) If a charter school wants to use money in the operations fund during the year to pay for any items listed in clause (E) that are considered capital in nature, the charter board must approve a plan following a public hearing. The charter school shall post the proposed plan or proposed amended plan on the charter school's website before the hearing. The charter school shall submit the proposed capital projects plan to the department of local government finance's computer gateway at least ten (10) days before the public hearing. The department of local government finance shall make the proposed plan available at least ten (10) days before the hearing, through the department's computer gateway. If an amendment to a capital projects plan is proposed, the charter board must declare the nature of and need for the amendment in the plan amendment.(C) If a charter board adopts a plan under clause (B), the charter school must then submit the plan to the department of local government finance for inclusion on the department's computer gateway not later than thirty (30) days after adoption of the plan. The department of local government finance shall immediately make the proposed plan available through the gateway website.(D) This clause applies to an amendment to a plan that is required because of an emergency that results in costs that exceed the amount accumulated in the fund for repair, replacement, or site acquisition that is necessitated by an emergency. The charter board is not required to comply with clause (C). If the charter board determines that an emergency exists, the governing body may adopt an amendment to the plan. An amendment to a plan is not subject to the deadline and procedures for adoption of a plan described in this subdivision.(E) This clause sets forth an exclusive list of the expenditures that may be made from the operations fund under clause (B), as set forth in the charter board's plan or amended plan. Subject to the expenditures that are identified in the charter school's plan or amended plan, the operations fund shall be used for the following: (iii) Building acquisition, construction, replacement, renovation, remodeling, improvement, and maintenance, including building materials and employment services.(iv) Rental of real estate, buildings, facilities, and equipment.(v) To repair and replace buildings and to repair and replace building fixtures that are owned or leased by the charter school and of a type constituting loss capable of being covered by casualty insurance.(vi) Purchase, lease, repair, or maintenance of equipment, including maintenance vehicles to be used by the charter school. However, the fund may not be used to pay for the purchase, lease, repair, or maintenance of vehicles that are not maintenance vehicles, or equipment to be used primarily for interscholastic or extracurricular activities.(vii) Service contracts for janitorial and custodial services, maintenance services, snow and ice removal services, trash removal services, mowing and lawn care services, pest control services, and any other routine services normally required in the maintenance or upkeep of charter school facilities.(viii) Repair, replacement, or site acquisition that is necessitated by an emergency.(ix) Construction, repair, replacement, remodeling, or maintenance of a school sports facility.(xi) Property and casualty insurance.(xii) Purchase, lease, upgrade, maintenance, or repair technology that will not be allocated to student instruction and learning, to include computer hardware, computer software, wiring and computer networks, and communication access systems used to connect with computer networks or electronic gateways; services of full-time or part-time computer maintenance employees; conducting nonrecurring inservice technology training of school employees; implementing the technology preparation curriculum; participating in a program to provide educational technologies, including computers in the homes of students (commonly referred to as "the buddy system project") under IC 20-20-13-6, the 4R's technology program, or any other program under the educational technology program described in IC 20-20-13; and obtaining any combination of equipment or services in the preceding two (2) categories of this item.(xiii) Services of charter school employees who perform services considered to be a skilled trade by the United States Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. For purposes of this item, skilled trade services do not include janitorial or comparable routine services normally provided in the daily operation of school facilities or equipment. Payment may be made for employee services only if the employees perform construction of, renovation of, remodeling of, repair of, or maintenance on the facilities and equipment of the charter school.(2) Pay transportation costs under the following conditions:(A) A charter school shall use the operations fund to pay the transportation costs attributable to transportation of school children as specified in clause (B).(B) Only the following costs are payable from the fund:(i) Salaries paid to bus drivers, transportation supervisors, mechanics and garage employees, clerks, and other transportation related employees.(ii) Contracted transportation services.(iii) Wages of independent contractors.(iv) Contracts with common carriers.(vi) Transportation related insurance.(vii) Other expenses of operating the school corporation's transportation service, including gasoline, lubricants, tires, repairs, contracted repairs, parts, supplies, equipment, and other related expenses.(C) Percentages or parts of salaries of teaching personnel or principals are not attributable to transportation. However, parts of salaries of instructional aides who are assigned to assist with the school transportation program are attributable to transportation. The costs described in this clause (other than instructional aide costs) may not be budgeted for payment or paid from the fund.(D) Costs for a calendar year are those costs attributable to transportation for students during the school year ending in the calendar year.(3) Carry out a school bus replacement plan approved by the charter school board under the following conditions:(A) Before a charter school may use money in the operations fund for replacing school buses, a resolution approving the school bus replacement plan or amended plan must be submitted to the department of local government finance.(B) The department of local government finance shall prescribe the format of the plan. A plan must apply to at least the five (5) budget years immediately following the year the plan is adopted and include at least an estimate for each year to which it applies of the nature and amount of proposed expenditures from the fund, and if the school corporation is seeking to acquire or contract for transportation services that will provide additional school buses or school buses with a larger seating capacity as compared with the number and type of school buses from the prior school year, evidence of a demand for increased transportation services within the school corporation. However, the evidence requirement regarding a contract for transportation services does not apply if contracted transportation services are not paid from the fund.(C) If the charter school is seeking to require a contractor to replace a school bus, evidence that the need exists for the replacement of the school bus. This clause does not apply if contracted transportation services are not paid from the operations fund.(D) Evidence that the charter school that seeks to acquire additional school buses under this subdivision is acquiring or contracting for the school buses only for the purposes specified in clause (B) or for replacement purposes.(E) If a charter school wants to use money in the operations fund during the year to pay for school bus replacement, the governing body must adopt a resolution approving the bus replacement plan or amended plan. The charter school shall post the proposed plan or proposed amended plan on the charter school's website before the hearing. The governing body must hold a hearing on the adoption of the plan. The charter school shall submit the proposed school bus replacement plan or amended plan to the department of local government finance's computer gateway at least ten (10) days before the hearing on the adoption of the plan. The department of local government finance shall make the proposed plan available to taxpayers, at least ten (10) days before the hearing, through the department's computer gateway. If an amendment to a bus replacement plan is being proposed, the charter school must declare the nature of and the need for the amendment in the resolution to adopt the amendment to the plan.(4) Pay expenses that are allocated to overhead and operational expenditures.(5) Establish, maintain, and equip a public playground.Added by P.L. 201-2023,SEC. 187, eff. 7/1/2024.