Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) The school district solvency assistance
fund shall be used to provide assistance and grants to school districts to
enable them to remain solvent and to pay unforeseeable expenses of a temporary
or emergency nature that they are unable to pay from existing resources.
(B) Management of the shared
resource account of the solvency assistance fund
(1) Information submitted by a school
district
A school district applying for solvency assistance from the
shared resource account of the school district solvency assistance fund shall
submit the following information to the Ohio department of education:
(a) Facts that demonstrate and document the
district's inability to meet all of its obligations for the current fiscal
year, including a copy of the certification of deficit
by the auditor of state
. The facts shall show how the assistance
will enable the school district to remain solvent. A
list of all financial reductions previously made within the past two years by
the district shall also be included.
(b) A resolution passed by the
school district board of education requesting the
Ohio department of education to provide solvency assistance from the shared
resource account of the school district solvency assistance fund to the
school district and requesting the auditor of
state to declare the school district in a state of fiscal emergency under
division (B) of section
3316.03 of the Revised Code
if the district has not already been declared in fiscal
emergency. If the school district has been declared in fiscal emergency, the
district must also include a copy of the resolution, passed by the Financial
Planning and Supervision Commission created pursuant to section
3316.05 of the Revised Code,
requesting that the Ohio department of education provide solvency assistance
from the shared resource account of the school district solvency assistance
fund to the school district..
(2) Eligibility for solvency assistance
For a school district to be eligible for solvency assistance
from the shared resource account of the school district solvency assistance
fund:
(a) The auditor of state shall
have declared that the school district is in a state of fiscal emergency under
division (B) of section
3316.03 of the Revised Code.
(b) The Ohio department of
education shall have certified that the school district has met the criteria
set forth in paragraph (B)(1) of this rule.
(3) Amount of solvency assistance
The amount of solvency assistance payments made from the
shared resource account of the school district solvency assistance fund by the
Ohio department of education shall be limited to the amount necessary for the
school district to remain solvent as provided in division (A)(1) of section
3316.20 of the Revised Code.
(4) Recovery of solvency
assistance
Repayment of the assistance shall be
made by the superintendent of public instruction from the amounts the school
district would otherwise receive pursuant to chapter 3317 of the Revised Code
or from any other funds appropriated for the district by the general
assembly.
As provided in division (B) of section
3316.20 of the Revised Code, the
superintendent of public instruction shall make
deductions each month
from the school district's school foundation settlement or
from other
appropriations
of the state for the district in amounts
sufficient to reimburse the shared resource account of the school district
solvency assistance fund not later than:
(a)
The end of the
second fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the solvency assistance
payment was made. Whereby, the repayment shall be made with substantially equal
deductions each month in amounts sufficient to reimburse the shared resource
account of the school district solvency assistance fund not later than the end
of the second fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the solvency
assistance payment was made. Repayment will begin in the fiscal year following
receipt of the assistance and shall conclude no later than June of the second
fiscal year following the year in which the assistance was provided; or
(b)
The
end of the tenth fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the solvency
assistance payment was made. If the director of budget and management and the
superintendent of public instruction approve a repayment schedule under this
division, repayment will occur in the fiscal year(s) designated by the director
and the superintendent and shall be made according to the schedule set for the
school district by the director and the superintendent such that the shared
resource account is reimbursed no later than the end of the tenth fiscal year
following the fiscal year in which the solvency assistance payment was made.
When approving an alternative repayment schedule, the director of budget and
management and the superintendent of public instruction shall consider:
(i)
Whether the
existence of repayment obligations for prior solvency assistance funds will
result in the existence of multiple repayment obligations within the same
fiscal year;
(ii)
The percentage of state funds received by the school
district directed towards solvency assistance repayment;
(iii)
Whether the
repayment of obligations will result in undue hardship in the ability of the
Financial Planning and Supervision Commission to restore fiscal solvency;
and
(iv)
Any other extenuating circumstances.
(5) Crediting of
reimbursement
Reimbursement shall be credited to the respective account from
which the solvency assistance paid to the district was deducted.
(C) Management of the
catastrophic expenditures account of the solvency assistance fund
(1) Information submitted by a school
district
A school district applying for a grant from the catastrophic
expenditures account of the school district solvency assistance fund shall
submit the following information to the Ohio department of education:
(a) Facts that demonstrate and document that
the school district has suffered an unforeseen catastrophic event that has
severely depleted the district's financial resources. The event or events may
include, but are not limited to:
(i) A loss
of revenue or an expenditure due to civil insurrection;
(ii) A loss of revenue or an expenditure due
to a natural disaster;
(iii) An
expenditure due to an catastrophic capital loss;
(iv) Any other unanticipated, extraordinary,
unusual and infrequent occurrence.
(2) Eligibility for grant
For a school district to be eligible for a grant from the
catastrophic expenditures account of the school district solvency assistance
fund:
(a) The Ohio department of
education shall have certified to the controlling board that the school
district has experienced an unforeseen catastrophic event, and that such event
severely depleted the district's financial resources. The department of
education shall have recommended that the controlling board approve a grant for
the school district from the catastrophic expenditures account of the school
district solvency assistance fund. The superintendent of public instruction, in
consultation with the office of budget and management, shall recommend an
amount that allows the district to pay the unforeseen expenses of a temporary
or emergency nature that the district is unable to pay from existing resources.
(b) The controlling board shall
have approved a grant for the school district from the catastrophic
expenditures account of the school district solvency assistance fund in
accordance with the certification and recommendation of the Ohio department of
education.
(3) Amount
of grant
The amount of a grant paid from the catastrophic expenditures
account of the school district solvency assistance fund by the Ohio department
of education to a school district shall be limited to the amount approved by
the controlling board.
(4)
Repayment of grant
A school district shall not be required to repay a grant
awarded to the district under paragraph (C) of this rule unless the district
receives money from a third party, including an agency of the government of the
United States, specifically for the purpose of compensating the district for
expenses incurred as a result of the unforeseen catastrophic event that
severely depleted the district's financial resources.
