58. a. There is hereby created a special fund in the Department of Education which shall be entitled the “County Vocational School District Facilities Rehabilitation Fund.” The fund shall be maintained in a separate account and administered by the commissioner to carry out the provisions of this section. The fund shall consist of all moneys appropriated by the State for the purposes of the fund and all interest and investment earnings received on moneys in the fund.

b. A county vocational school district may apply to the commissioner for a grant in the maximum amount of $500,000 to be matched by the district for the purposes of funding health and safety school facilities rehabilitation projects. The grant and matching district funds shall be maintained by the district in a special revenue fund as certified by the district’s board of education and its chief financial officer and shall be subject to annual audit. A project funded through the grant fund shall not require the approval of the commissioner pursuant to section 5 of this act.

c. Any county vocational school district which receives grant funding pursuant to subsection b. of this section shall not be eligible to receive school facilities aid pursuant to any other provision of this act for a period of five years from the district’s receipt of the grant, except that the district may receive debt service aid pursuant to section 10 of this act; and any county vocational school district which receives aid under any provision of this act other than section 10, shall not receive a grant pursuant to subsection b. of this section for five years after approval of a project which is otherwise funded under this act.

L.2000,c.72,s.58.