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Bill would require 10-year capital plans from districts; DOE warns of staffing limits
Summary
Representative Rick Ladd said HB 1818 would require school districts to submit 10-year capital-improvement plans to the Department of Education, changing current guidance language to 'shall'; DOE told the committee it lacks staff to implement new reporting without added positions.
Representative Rick Ladd, sponsor of HB 1818, told the Senate Education Committee the bill would change existing language so that each school district "shall" develop a 10-year capital-improvement plan and submit it to the Department of Education. He said the measure aims to let the legislature and the department better project capital needs — similar to a 10-year highway plan — and to surface consolidation projects and other capital priorities.
"What this does, it rechanges that language to shall... develop a 10 year plan," Ladd said, explaining the purpose is to let state-level planners see what projects districts expect over time.
Tim Carney, bureau administrator for school facilities at the Department of Education, said department leadership had recommended an earlier fiscal note request for staff to support implementation; currently, Carney said, "the department's unable to implement because we simply don't have the staff to do it."
Carney told the committee the original fiscal note had included a requested staff position; without staffing, the department could not readily process or act on additional reporting duties.
The committee discussed the bill's language and voted later in the session; sponsors said a fiscal note tied to an earlier fund was removed and that the current bill as presented does not include a new appropriation.
