Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March 18, 2024
(a) Within 90 days of receipt of a LRFP from a school district that has not previously submitted a LRFP, the Division shall determine whether the plan is fully and accurately completed and whether all information necessary to review the plan has been filed by the school district.
1. When a LRFP is determined to be complete, the Division shall notify in writing the school district that the plan is deemed complete.
2. When a LRFP is determined to be incomplete, the Division shall notify in writing the school district and require the submission of additional information as detailed in the notification. A school district shall submit the requested information. Only after the Division determines all requested information has been submitted and the information is accurate shall it determine a plan to be complete.
(b) Within 60 days of the date of the notification that a plan is complete, the Commissioner shall notify the school district of the final determination of the LRFP. A final determination shall set forth:
1. Reasonable five-year enrollment projections;
2. A complete facility inventory;
3. A complete inventory of physical conditions/deficiencies of every facility;
4. A listing of all school-district-owned land, and a listing of any new school sites needed for school facilities projects if identified by the school district;
5. Spaces for which a waiver is approved pursuant to (e) below;
6. Identification of school facilities for which new construction was proposed in lieu of rehabilitation and for which it appears from the information presented that new construction is justified but, for school facilities so identified, a feasibility study shall be submitted as part of the application for the school facilities project;
7. A listing of all proposed new construction projects for unhoused students; and
8. A listing of all proposed capital projects included in the LRFP.
(c) A school district shall amend its approved LRFP whenever it seeks to undertake a capital project that is inconsistent with the approved LRFP in effect. The amendment request shall be accompanied by a district board of education resolution approving the submission of the LRFP amendment.
1. In the case of an emergent project, the LRFP may be amended as provided in 6A:26-3.1 4(e).
2. In the case of a school facilities project requiring amendment to the school district's applicable approved room inventory in the approved LRFP, approval of the school facilities project shall require the prior approval of an amended room inventory. If amending the room inventory would affect the capacity of one or more of the school district's school facilities, the school district shall fully document the impact of amending the room inventory on each school facility in the school district, and Division review and approval of the LRFP amendment shall be required prior to Division approval of the school facilities project.
3. In the case of a school district seeking to amend its LRFP involving capital maintenance, the school district shall amend its LRFP by submitting an amendment request and updating the Department's software to:
i. Identify the building system or systems affected by the project;
ii. Revise building system conditions to reflect deficiencies;
iii. Indicate the deficient quantity and unit costs for the deficient system; and
iv. Commit the deficiency to a proposed project.
4. Prior to approval of a project that is inconsistent with a school district's approved LRFP and that affects the capacity of one or more of its school facilities, or the total number or grade alignment of school facilities in the school district, a school district shall amend its LRFP to fully document the project's impact on each facility. The Division shall review and approve the LFRP amendment according to this section prior to the Division's approval of the project.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, if at any time the number of LRFPs pending before the Commissioner for review exceeds 20 percent of the total number of operating school districts in the State, the Commissioner may extend by 60 days the deadline for reviewing each plan then before him or her. The Commissioner shall notify in writing each affected school district of the extension. No LRFP shall be considered to be pending before the Commissioner for review until a school district is notified by the Commissioner that the plan is complete.
(e) Any school district that has an approved LRFP may begin undertaking feasibility studies for new construction identified pursuant to (b)6 above, site acquisition, development, remediation and design work, and acquire temporary facilities, provided that such activities are consistent with its approved LRFP and this chapter. For school districts required to use the Development Authority, the activities also shall be undertaken under the auspices of the Development Authority and in accordance with 18A:7G-5 and this chapter.
