State Construction Department staff told the Select Committee on School Facilities that component funding exists to help school districts pay for high-cost building components that exceed what district major maintenance balances can cover.

John Rexes, facility planner/manager, said component projects are identified using district facility plans and the statewide facility condition assessment. He explained the department calculates a “deficiency funding index” for prioritization by combining current deficiencies and three years of projected deficiencies and dividing by existing and projected major maintenance balances, using RSMeans cost guidance for regional unit costs.

Rexes told the committee that before the 2023 Bureau Veritas assessment the state used a regional scoring committee to rank projects; the 2023 data drop occurred late in the year and the department shifted to an agency-driven prioritization method that used assessment data and major maintenance balances. He said the department intends to restore more collaborative prioritization with facility managers and districts for future requests.

Del McColmy, director, noted component funding was expanded after departments saw districts unable to fund million‑dollar system replacements with accumulated major maintenance dollars. He gave Saratoga High School as an example where a deteriorated HVAC system would not have been replaceable by district savings alone.

Committee members and district facility directors who spoke in public comment emphasized the importance of component funds for smaller districts and urged continued collaboration. Sheridan County’s facilities director, Troy Decker, said component funding “allows us then to deal with a lot of other things that actually, impact the building, but also have additional educational impact on students.”

Officials said component-level expenditures must meet statutory major maintenance eligibility (statute cited in committee materials) and that exceptions have occurred in limited circumstances. The department said it will work to verify assessment data with districts and reopen a more inclusive prioritization process involving facility managers.