House Bill 338 advances from committee to create revolving grant program for rural school facility repairs

Representative Doug Pickett introduced House Bill 338 on March 3, 2025, a bill proposing a public school facilities cooperative funding program that would use existing money in a dormant school facilities account together with leftover bond-levy equalization funds to provide up to $50,500,000 in assistance targeted at districts with health, safety or deferred-maintenance needs.

Pickett said the proposal repurposes existing appropriations and modifies a prior 2000s-era program that saw little use because of onerous state supervision requirements. "This relates to an essentially dormant school facilities fund that's been in place for 20 some odd years," he told the committee, and the bill removes a requirement that the state take over local projects so districts can manage projects locally.

Representative Monroe Furness (District 31) and Representative Sonia Galaviz described program mechanics and the need in rural districts. Furness said the program would permit a maximum award of $5,000,000 per district and that the superintendent of public instruction would manage the panel that evaluates applications. Awards would generally be repaid over 20 years at a low treasury-based interest rate; if payments are not completed within the 20-year amortization window the award becomes a grant.

Furness walked members through a formula that uses the old bond-equalization index to calculate a district's repayment share so that smaller, lower-value districts receive more favorable repayment terms. He said the intent is to help rural districts that cannot pass bonds or that pass bonds but still lack sufficient funds to finish safety-critical projects.

Representative Galaviz presented statewide facility-condition data compiled after House Bill 521 required districts to submit building assessments; she said those assessments showed dozens of districts need replacement or urgent repairs. She characterized HB338 as "not a silver bullet" but a tool to reduce gaps faced by districts that have exhausted local fundraising and bond options.

The committee heard in-person testimony from Brianne Green of Salmon, who described Salmon School District's experience passing a $20 million bond after 13 failed attempts and raising supplemental contributions and in-kind work. Green said Salmon remains several million dollars short of construction needs and supported HB338 as a bridge or loan tool.

Representative Ehart moved that H.B. 338 be transmitted to the floor with a "do pass" recommendation. The committee approved the motion on a voice vote and sent the bill to the floor for further consideration.