Committee advances House Bill 338 to create revolving grant/loan program for rural school facility repairs using existing funds

Doug Pickett introduced House Bill 338 on March 3 and said the proposal builds on earlier legislation to make an existing but underused school facilities fund available to districts with demonstrated health, safety or renovation needs. Pickett said the bill would combine money that already exists in a school facilities fund with leftover bond-levy-equalization funds to total about $50,500,000 for a revolving grant program aimed primarily at smaller, rural districts.

Representative Monroe Furness (Furness), who spoke at length to the bill's mechanics, said the program is not a new tax but a repurposing of previously appropriated funds. Furness explained the program's eligibility and payment mechanics: applicants must show a hazardous facility or safety issue and either have passed at least one bond or failed a bond; grants would be capped at $5 million per project; the superintendent of public instruction (rather than the State Board) would administer the program and a panel would prioritize awards. Furness described an option for the award to be repaid at low interest using a bond-equalization-style calculation; if repayment is not completed within a 20-year amortization period the award or remaining balance could be forgiven and treated as a grant.

Representative Sonia Galaviz presented state facility-condition data to explain the need. Galaviz said that statewide building assessments required by House Bill 521 had produced apples-to-apples facility-condition indices and identified dozens of schools needing immediate replacement or repair; she said the bill is not a "silver bullet" but would help close gaps for rural districts that have repeatedly failed bond attempts.

Brianne Green, a Salmon community member who served on her district's needs-assessment committee, testified in person about Salmon's experience. Green said Salmon passed a $20 million bond after many failed attempts and still faced a $2.5–3 million shortfall; she described extensive volunteer and in-kind contributions from local contractors and said HB 338 would be a tool her district could use as a bridge loan or partial grant to complete the project.

Representative Ehart moved that the committee give HB 338 a due-pass recommendation to the floor. Committee chair called for the vote; the motion carried and the bill will be sent to the House floor.