Section 25-2576 - Approval of Department of Public Instruction(a) No payment shall be made to any school district on account of any lease entered into with the State Public School Building Authority or any municipality authority or nonprofit corporation under section 758 of this act or any profit or nonprofit corporation, partnership, association or person under section 791 of this act or on account of sinking fund charges on indebtedness for school buildings unless such lease or sinking fund charge is approved by the Department of Public Instruction. Except as hereinafter provided, the Department of Public Instruction may give its approval to any lease heretofore or hereafter entered into and to any payments on account of sinking fund charges on indebtedness for school buildings if it shall find in the case of all school districts, except school districts of the first class, first class A and second class which are not part of a county-wide plan, that the leased project or the project for which the indebtedness is incurred, is in conformance with county-wide plans prepared by the county board of school directors and approved pursuant to the standards of the State Board of Education for the orderly development of improved attendance areas and administrative units and for the improved housing of public schools in the Commonwealth, and in the case of all school districts, that the school building will conform with standards and regulations prescribed by the department with respect to educational and architectural design, building materials, fixtures and equipment, location, usefulness for community activities, safety, comfort and convenience, and that the school district or school districts which incur the indebtedness or to which the project is to be leased will have the ability to meet from current revenues the rental or sinking fund charge or their respective shares of rental or sinking fund charge and to defray the cost of their respective shares of the cost of operation and maintenance of the project.(b) The department shall have the right to disapprove or approve with reservation a lease because of any failure on the part of the authority or school district to comply with the provisions of the laws of the Commonwealth relating to such authority or nonprofit corporation or profit or nonprofit corporation, partnership, association or person or school district only to such extent as will prevent the school district from paying a greater sum as rental because of such noncompliance with law. For that purpose, the department may require a modification of the lease if not at that time executed or may approve the lease with the reservation that the department will pay the reimbursement on that amount only which would have been determined by reason of the lower rental.(c) The Department of Public Instruction shall not approve any project for which Commonwealth reimbursement is sought unless an inspection has been made by the department of the location and adequacy of existing school facilities and the determination made that existing facilities are inadequate in terms of prevailing educational standards.1949, March 10, P.L. 30, art. XXV, § 2576, added 1956, March 22, P.L. (1955) 1315, § 2. Amended 1956, May 24, P.L. (1955) 1669, No. 562, § 1; 1957, July 11, P.L. 775, § 7; 1965, Oct. 21, P.L. 601, § 59.