Committee recommends bill to create optional state-accessible library of school designs to lower facility costs
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Summary
Representative Kristofferson’s amendment directs the State Board of Education to explore creating a voluntary library of school facility designs and cost benchmarks to help districts reduce design and construction costs; the committee adopted the amendment and recommended the bill as amended (roll call recorded 8–4).
Representative Kristofferson told the committee HB298 would ask the State Board of Education to coordinate a voluntary library of school-design plans and to pursue contractual opportunities to acquire and share design plans to reduce costs. He said the change is optional for local education agencies and intended to encourage reuse of successful designs to save taxpayer money.
Committee members and stakeholders discussed feasibility, procurement authority, local control, and intellectual-property concerns. Some committee members noted that districts already reuse designs in practice; others warned that a state-managed library could become a de facto standard and that local site conditions, seismic requirements and community preferences can make one-size-fits-all designs impractical.
The American Institute of Architects and local school boards urged careful attention to procurement rules, IP/copyright issues and stakeholder involvement. Representative Kristofferson said the language is intentionally permissive and meant to prompt the state board to coordinate options.
The committee adopted the first amendment and then recommended HB298 as amended by roll call (tally recorded 8 yes, 4 no). Supporters said the change could lower long-term costs for districts that leverage a shared design resource; opponents urged caution and coordination with existing building-data reporting and procurement processes.