Because of the rates of decline in school-aged population, population shifts and economic changes that the state has experienced in recent years and anticipates in future years, and because in some instances local districts have not, and will not be able to provide the required construction funds through local property taxes, the purpose of the cooperative facilities grant program is to provide an incentive to encourage cooperation in making available to all students those educational programs, services and facilities that are most efficiently and effectively provided by a cooperative effort of school districts. The policy and purpose of sections 123A.442 to 123A.445 is to use the credit of the state, to a limited degree, to provide grants to cooperating groups of districts to improve and expand the educational opportunities and facilities available to their students.