A. The “public school facilities authority” is created under the council. The authority shall be headed by a director, selected by the council, who shall be versed in construction, architecture or project management. The director may hire no more than two deputies with the approval of the council, and, subject to budgetary constraints set out in Subsection G of Section 22-24-4 N.M. Stat. Ann., shall employ or contract with such technical and administrative personnel as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. The director, deputies and all other employees of the authority shall be exempt from the provisions of the Personnel Act [N.M. Stat. Ann. Chapter 10, Article 9].

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B. The authority shall:

(1)     serve as staff to the council;

(2)     as directed by the council, provide those assistance and oversight functions required of the council by Section 22-24-5.1 N.M. Stat. Ann.;

(3)     assist school districts with:

(a) the development and implementation of five-year facilities plans and preventive maintenance plans;

(b) procurement of architectural and engineering services;

(c) management and oversight of construction activities; and

(d) training programs;

(4)     conduct ongoing reviews of five-year facilities plans, preventive maintenance plans and performance pursuant to those plans;

(5)     as directed by the council, assist school districts in analyzing and assessing their space utilization options;

(6)     ensure that public school capital outlay projects are in compliance with applicable building codes;

(7)     conduct on-site inspections as necessary to ensure that the construction specifications are being met and periodically inspect all of the documents related to projects;

(8)     require the use of standardized construction documents and the use of a standardized process for change orders;

(9)     have access to the premises of a project and any documentation relating to the project;

(10)    after consulting with the department, recommend building standards for public school facilities to the council and ensure compliance with building standards adopted by the council;

(11)    notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection D of Section 22-24-6 N.M. Stat. Ann., account for all distributions of grant assistance from the fund for which the initial award was made after July 1, 2004, and make annual reports to the department, the governor, the legislative education study committee, the legislative finance committee and the legislature;

(12)    maintain a database of the condition of school facilities and maintenance schedules;

(13)    as a central purchasing office pursuant to the Procurement Code N.M. Stat. Ann. § 13-1-28 to 13-1-199 and as directed by the council, select contractors and enter into and administer contracts for certain emergency projects funded pursuant to Subparagraph (b) of Paragraph (2) of Subsection B of Section 22-24-5 N.M. Stat. Ann.;

and (14)    ensure that outstanding deficiencies are corrected pursuant to Section 22- 24-4.1 NMSA 1978. In the performance of this duty, the authority:

(a) shall work with school districts to validate the assessment of the outstanding deficiencies and the projected costs to correct the deficiencies;

(b) shall work with school districts to provide direct oversight of the management and construction of the projects that will correct the outstanding deficiencies;

(c) shall oversee all aspects of the contracts entered into by the council to correct the outstanding deficiencies;

(d) may conduct on-site inspections while the deficiencies correction work is being done to ensure that the construction specifications are being met and may periodically inspect all of the documents relating to the projects;

(e) may require the use of standardized construction documents and the use of a standardized process for change orders;

(f) may access the premises of a project and any documentation relating to the project; and

(g) shall maintain, track and account for deficiency correction projects separately from other capital outlay projects funded pursuant to the Public School Capital Outlay Act.

C. All actions taken by the authority shall be consistent with educational programs conducted pursuant to the Public School Code [Chapter 22 [except Article 5A] NMSA 1978]. In the event of any potential or perceived conflict between a proposed action of the authority and an educational program, the authority shall consult with the secretary.

D. A school district, aggrieved by a decision or recommendation of the authority, may appeal the matter to the council by filing a notice of appeal with the council within thirty days of the authority’s decision or recommendation. Upon filing of the notice:

(1)     the decision or recommendation of the authority shall be suspended until the matter is decided by the council;

(2)     the council shall hear the matter at its next regularly scheduled hearing or at a special hearing called by the chair for that purpose;

(3)     at the hearing, the school district, the authority and other interested parties may make informal presentations to the council; and

(4)     the council shall finally decide the matter within ten days after the hearing.