TO: | Honorable Florence Shapiro, Chair, Senate Committee on Education |
FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
IN RE: | SB1700 by Shapiro (relating to state assistance with the costs of constructing or renovating public high school science laboratories. ), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted |
Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
---|---|
2008 | ($10,515,000) |
2009 | ($10,515,000) |
2010 | ($10,515,000) |
2011 | ($10,515,000) |
2012 | ($10,515,000) |
Fiscal Year | Probable Savings/(Cost) from FOUNDATION SCHOOL FUND 193 |
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2007 |
---|---|---|
2008 | ($10,515,000) | 1.0 |
2009 | ($10,515,000) | 1.0 |
2010 | ($10,515,000) | 1.0 |
2011 | ($10,515,000) | 1.0 |
2012 | ($10,515,000) | 1.0 |
According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the typical science lab comprises on average 1,400 square feet of classroom lab space and 240 square feet of prep room space, for a total of 1,640 square feet. At the maximum grant awards allowed by the bill, each new construction project would be awarded $328,000 and a renovation project would receive $164,000.
There is no current base of data from which to estimate the number of eligible science lab projects that potentially could receive funding in a competitive grant process. For the purposes of this fiscal note, it is assumed the number of districts receiving awards under this program would resemble that under the Instructional Facilities Allotment (IFA), a current competitive facilities grant that ranks districts based on property wealth per student. In FY2007, out of the 356 applicants for the IFA, 42 districts received a grant award.
Based on available data from TEA, in the 42 districts in the state with the lowest wealth per student and that have a high school campus, there are 51 high school campuses. For the purposes of this fiscal note, it is assumed that there would be one grant per high school campus, or 51 grants. Given the limited number of new high school construction from year to year, it is assumed that approximately 75 percent of the grants, or 38 grants, would be for renovation of existing facilities, and 25 percent, or 13 grants, would be for new construction. Assuming grants would be awarded at the maximum allowable cost of $164,000 per renovation grant and $328,000 per new construction grants, the total estimated state cost would be approximately $10.46 million for FY2008.
Fifty-one campuses represent approximately 3 percent of the statewide number of high school campuses. It is assumed for the purposes of this fiscal note that the Commissioner would adopt rules such that additional high school campuses that did not receive funding in FY2008 but that can demonstrate a need for grant funding would be funded in each year after FY2009, and that funds are appropriated for this purpose.
It is assumed that TEA would need one full-time equivalent position, with approximately $60,000 in supporting administrative funding annually, to implement the program. Duties would include drafting rules regarding eligibility, application procedures, and accountability, reviewing applications, assessing documentation on demonstrated need and square footage, and ongoing monitoring responsibilities.
Source Agencies: | 701 Central Education Agency
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LBB Staff: | JOB, JSp, UP, JGM
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