CHARLESTON, W.Va. — In the state Senate, a bill is being discussed to change the name of the state School Building Authority.
The Senate Education Committee began discussions on Senate Bill 261 on Monday.
The bill would rename the SBA the “School Maintenance Authority,” and it would transition the purpose of the authority from an organization that primarily focuses on financing school construction and improvement projects, to an entity that has the primary focus of financing school maintenance projects.
The bill also includes the definition of “maintenance project,” and modifies the definition of “major school improvement projects.”
Putnam County Senator Eric Tarr said he was left to the understanding that school maintenance projects were the responsibility of local school systems and not directly funded through the state.
“The way I understand it, and correct me if I’m wrong, is that much of the school maintenance is afforded at the local level, because in the School Aid funding formula, there’s a step for the square footage that’s in the buildings, that we fund counties for the purposes of maintaining their schools already,” Tarr inquired.
Tarr further asked, would the state then be encouraging a county, who is already getting state funding and property taxes to ask for even more funding, even when it involves a project the county should have already had the means to properly take care of themselves.
“If they are poor stewards of that process, both receiving the funds and seeing how they are properly maintained in order to maintain their building, we’re going to say, ‘okay, well, that’s okay, come back to the state and we’ll just give you more money,” is that what we’re doing with this bill,” Tarr asked.
SBA Executive Director Andy Neptune said while the state Board of Education does set aside some of their general funds to go toward maintenance and maintaining that type of equipment in each county school district, the SBA already currently plays a big role in funding those projects as well.
He said since Fiscal Year 2020, the SBA has a total of 141 school projects, of which, only 14% are building brand new schools.
Neptune said a large number of their resources already helps fund a multitude of projects.
“Fifteen percent of roofs, MEPs are twenty-four, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, Safe Schools fourteen percent, existing school renovations thirty percent, so it runs the gamut as far as what the role is that we fund,” said Neptune.
He said counties will design a list known as a CFP regarding what their needs are which will then get sent to the Department of Education for approval. Neptune said once the Department of Education approves a certain request, it will then go to the SBA.
Tarr said he would expect, at the very least, less major operations such as mechanical or roofing issues could be some that are taken up at the county level instead of having to go to the SBA.
Neptune said this happens at times, but it depends on the severity of the situation at hand.
“There are times that we have talked about where counties have gone and used their local funds to fix roof leaks that they can afford from their general account, but then there are times where there are roof replacements that need to occur, the damage or the age of the building is needed where it may be the whole length of the school,” said Neptune.
He said, though, that the county does use preventative maintenance measures which they have to log as getting completed before going to the state for more funding.
SBA Chief Financial Officer Jordan Kirk said this transition process for the SBA won’t be as simple as the name change, however, as it will also have an affect on the bonds.
He said they would have to rename in every facet.
“We would have to reissue all of our bonds that we currently have with the new name under them, new indentured documents, all of that to recognize the new name, down to things as simple as signage on the building,” Kirk said.
Discussions on the SBA name change bill is expected to continue Tuesday.