Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7503 – Matching funds
(a) Except in the case of a school district for which a local share is not required by any school construction bond authorization act, the state share apportioned to a school district by such school construction bond authorization act shall not be expended unless the local share for such school district shall have been deposited with the State Treasurer not later than 2 years after the effective date of a school construction bond authorization act.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7503
- Bonds: means any bonds authorized to be issued by the State pursuant to a school construction bond authorization act. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Local share: means the sum of money specified in any school construction bond authorization act to render permissible the use of the state share for school construction within the particular school district. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
- Minor capital improvement: means minor capital improvement as that term is defined in § 7528 of this title. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
- School construction: includes , but is not limited to, the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, alteration, remodeling or enlargement of school buildings, the acquisition or installation of apparatus or equipment or educational supplies suitable for the use of such buildings, the acquisition of machinery necessary for the maintenance of such buildings or school grounds, the acquisition of land required as sites for such buildings, or for playgrounds, including land or rights in land needed to provide access to sites and to provide suitable playgrounds, and the grading or other improvements of such sites, land or rights in land, including the construction of sidewalks where authorized by law, the construction of any sewers or water mains needed to connect such buildings to any publicly owned sewer system or water system, the acquisition of temporary buildings or facilities for school purposes to be used until such time as permanent school buildings or facilities shall become available. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
- School construction bond authorization act: means an authorization act of the General Assembly concurred in by 3/4 of all the members of each House, authorizing, among other things, the issuance of bonds and the appropriation of the proceeds thereof to finance school construction. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
- School district: means a reorganized school district, or any newly created school unit or area for which no board has been appointed or elected at the time of the effective date of any school construction bond authorization act or any area which the State Board of Education shall determine to be the area served by any school facility which is referred to in any school construction bond authorization act and for which there is specified no local share. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
- State share: means that maximum sum of money which may be paid from state sources for school construction in a particular school district as provided in any school construction bond authorization act. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
- Total cost: means the maximum sum or sums of money which may be spent for school construction under a particular school construction bond authorization act in a particular school district, provided that nothing contained in this chapter shall prevent any school district from increasing said total cost by providing a larger amount from local sources than that stated as that district's local share, nor prevent the acceptance and use of any funds appropriated by the Congress of the United States for these purposes. See Delaware Code Title 29 Sec. 7501
- Year: means a calendar year, and is equivalent to the words "year of our Lord. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) The local share for each school construction project, excluding minor capital improvement projects, which is contained in a school construction bond authorization act, shall be computed as specified in this subsection. A local share ratio shall first be computed for each school district, including vocational districts, and 1 for each county, for each fiscal year and shall be used in computing the local share of funding for that school district for each school construction project contained in the school construction bond act for that fiscal year. In the event that the funding of a project is spread over more than 1 school construction bond authorization act, the local share ratio which applies to that project in the school construction bond authorization act in which it first appears shall apply to all subsequent school construction bond authorization act allocations for that project. The local share ratio shall be computed by multiplying the school district ability index for the school district, or in the case of vocational schools or special schools, the county wide ability index, as defined in § 1707 of Title 14, by .40, providing, however, that the product shall not exceed .40 or be less than .20 for any school district. The local share ratio shall be rounded to the nearest one-hundredth and the result multiplied by the total cost of the school construction project in order to determine the local share.
The local share for each school construction project may include an additional amount, not to exceed 15% of the local cost as calculated in the preceding paragraph, to match additional state funds that may be appropriated to address increases in the cost of school construction projects. Provided the district receives referendum approval for this additional amount and the State appropriates additional funds subsequent to referendum passage, the district may increase its local share in accordance with the local share ratio for the project and the approved referendum subject to local school board approval.
Inclusion of a project and designation of a local share for a vocational school in a school construction bond authorization act shall be considered authorization for the vocational district to establish a tax rate sufficient to pay the principal and interest on the bonds for the local share of the project.
For the statewide autistic program, the Delaware School for the Deaf, the John G. Leach School, the Kent County Community School, the John S. Charlton School, the Sussex Consortium, Sussex County Orthopedic School, the Charles W. Bush Early Education Center, and the Howard T. Ennis School, construction shall be 100% state-funded. State funding for these schools shall include, but not be limited to, school construction projects serving students, ages three and older, who meet the criteria established in 14 Del. C. c. 31.
Inclusion of a project and designation of a local share for a special school shall be considered authorization for the school district administering the special school to obligate itself for the required bonds and for the school district to collect the revenues required to pay the principal and interest on those bonds through tuition payments authorized in § 602 of Title 14. The school district collecting the tuition for payment of bonds and interest shall maintain such debt service receipts in a separate account for the special school.
(c) The provisions of subsection (b) of this section to the contrary notwithstanding, for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1992, through June 30, 1994, the local share ratio for reorganized school districts with ability indices less than 1.0 shall be computed as follows:
FY’92: [Ability Index X .40] + ¾ [.40 — (Ability Index X .40)]
FY’93: [Ability Index X .40] + ½ [.40 — (Ability Index X .40)]
FY’94: [Ability Index X .40] + ¼ [.40 — (Ability Index X .40)]
For purposes of this subsection the value of the ability index used in these calculations for any school district shall not be less than .50. This subsection shall not apply to vocational-technical school districts or to special schools.
29 Del. C. 1953, § ?7503; 54 Del. Laws, c. 345; 68 Del. Laws, c. 156, § ?72(a), (b); 69 Del. Laws, c. 77, § ?80; 72 Del. Laws, c. 489, § ?128; 73 Del. Laws, c. 95, § ?110; 73 Del. Laws, c. 350, § ?103; 76 Del. Laws, c. 79, § ?142; 77 Del. Laws, c. 87, § ?119; 78 Del. Laws, c. 262, § ?2; 82 Del. Laws, c. 86, § 159;