West Virginia Code 18-9F-4 – Guidelines and procedures for school access safety plans; project evaluation; on-site inspection of facilities
(a) By June 1, 2007, the authority shall establish and distribute to each county board guidelines and procedures regarding school access safety plans and school access safety projects, which shall address at least the following:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 18-9F-4
- Authority: means the School Building Authority of West Virginia. See West Virginia Code 18-9F-2
- board: means a county board of education. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- safety plan: means the comprehensive countywide school access safety plan that:
(A) Is prepared by each county board seeking funding under this article and incorporated into its comprehensive educational facilities plan in accordance with guidelines established by the authority. See West Virginia Code 18-9F-2
- safety project: means a project administered in furtherance of a school access safety plan pursuant to the provisions of this article. See West Virginia Code 18-9F-2
- School: means the students and teachers assembled in one or more buildings, organized as a unit. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- State board: means the West Virginia Board of Education. See West Virginia Code 18-1-1
(1) All of the necessary elements of the school access safety plan required in accordance with the provisions of section three of this article;
(2) The manner, time line and process for submission to the authority of each safety plan and annual plan update, including guidelines for modification of an approved safety plan;
(3) Any project and maintenance specifications considered appropriate by the authority;
(4) Procedures for a county board to submit a preliminary plan, plan outline or plan proposal to the authority prior to submitting the safety plan. The preliminary plan, plan outline or plan proposal shall be the basis for a consultation meeting between representatives of the county board and the authority. The meeting shall be held as soon as practicable following submission in order to:
(A) Ensure understanding of the goals of this article;
(B) Discuss ways the plan may be structured to meet the goals of this article; and
(C) Ensure efficiency and productivity in the approval process; and
(5) Procedures for notifying county boards of the funds available for allocation and disbursement during each fiscal year pursuant to section six of this article.
(b) By June 1, 2007, the authority shall establish and distribute to each county board guidelines and procedures for evaluating safety plans and safety projects that address at least the following:
(1) Whether the proposed safety project furthers the safety plan and complies with the guidelines established by the authority;
(2) How the safety plan and safety project will ensure the prudent and resourceful expenditure of state funds and achieve the purposes of this article;
(3) Whether the safety plan and safety project advance student health and safety needs, including, but not limited to, critical health and safety needs;
(4) Whether the safety plan and safety project include regularly scheduled preventive maintenance; and
(5) Consideration of the prioritized list of projects required by section three of this article.
(c) The authority shall establish guidelines and procedures for allocating and disbursing funds in accordance with section six of this article, subject to the availability of funds.
(d) Each county board receiving funds pursuant to this article annually shall conduct an on-site inspection and submit an audit review to the state board. The inspection shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Department of Education's Handbook on Planning School Facilities.