Section 22-20-1 - School construction; approval of the public school facilities authority; compliance with statewide adequacy standards; state construction and fire standards applicable.
22-20-1. School construction; approval of the public school facilities authority; compliance with statewide adequacy standards; state construction and fire standards applicable.
A. Except as provided in Subsection D of this section, each local school board or governing body of a charter school shall secure the approval of the director of the public school facilities authority or the director's designee prior to the construction or letting of contracts for construction of any school building or related school structure or before reopening an existing structure that was formerly used as a school building but that has not been used for that purpose during the previous year. A written application shall be submitted to the director requesting approval of the construction, and, upon receipt, the director shall forward a copy of the application to the secretary. The director shall prescribe the form of the application, which shall include the following:
(1) a statement of need;
(2) the anticipated number of students affected by the construction;
(3) the estimated cost;
(4) a description of the proposed construction project;
(5) a map of the area showing existing school attendance centers within a five-mile radius and any obstructions to attending the attendance centers, such as railroad tracks, rivers and limited-access highways; and
(6) other information as may be required by the director.
B. The director or the director's designee shall give approval to an application if the director or designee reasonably determines that:
(1) the construction will not cause an unnecessary proliferation of school construction;
(2) the construction is needed in the school district or by the charter school;
(3) the construction is feasible;
(4) the cost of the construction is reasonable;
(5) the school district or charter school has sbmitted a five-year facilities plan that includes:
(a) enrollment projections;
(b) a current preventive maintenance plan;
(c) the capital needs of charter schools chartered by the school district, if applicable, or the capital needs of the charter school if it is state-chartered; and
(d) projections for the facilities needed in order to maintain a full-day kindergarten program;
(6) the construction project:
(a) is in compliance with the statewide adequacy standards adopted pursuant to the Public School Capital Outlay Act [22-24-1 NMSA 1978]; and
(b) is appropriately integrated into the school district or charter school five-year facilities plan;
(7) the school district or charter school is financially able to pay for the construction; and
(8) the secretary has certified that the construction will support the educational program of the school district or charter school.
C. Within thirty days after the receipt of an application filed pursuant to this section, the director or the director's designee shall in writing notify the local school board or governing body of a charter school making the application and the department of approval or disapproval of the application.
D. By rule, the public school capital outlay council may:
(1) exempt classes or types of construction from the application and approval requirements of this section; or
(2) exempt classes or types of construction from the requirement of approval but, if the council determines that information concerning the construction is necessary for the maintenance of the facilities assessment database, require a description of the proposed construction project and related information to be submitted to the public school facilities authority.
E. A local school board or governing body of a charter school shall not enter into a contract for the construction of a public school facility, including contracts funded with insurance proceeds, unless the contract contains provisions requiring the construction to be in compliance with the statewide adequacy standards adopted pursuant to the Public School Capital Outlay Act, provided that, for a contract funded in whole or in part with insurance proceeds:
(1) the cost of settlement of any insurance claim shall not be increased by inclusion of the insurance proceeds in the construction contract; and
(2) insurance claims settlements shall continue to be governed by insurance policies, memoranda of coverage and rules related to them.
F. Public school facilities shall be constructed pursuant to state standards or codes promulgated pursuant to the Construction Industries Licensing Act [60-13-1 NMSA 1978] and rules adopted pursuant to Section 59A-52-15 NMSA 1978 for the prevention and control of fires in public occupancies. Building standards or codes adopted by a municipality or county do not apply to the construction of public school facilities, except those structures constructed as a part of an educational program of a school district or charter school.
G. The provisions of Subsection F of this section relating to fire protection shall not be effective until the public regulation commission has adopted the International Fire Code and all standards related to that code.
H. As used in this section, "construction" means any project for which the construction industries division of the regulation and licensing department requires permitting and for which the estimated total cost exceeds two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000).