ARRA funds update from ODOE

February 8th, 2010

From our friends at the Oregon Department of Energy:

****STIMULUS GRANT OPPORTUNITY NOTICE FOR OREGON PUBLIC SCHOOLS****

Do you have a lighting project that is ready to go? Do you need funding?

The Oregon Dept. of Energy has approximately $5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment funds prioritized for public school lighting projects.

Interested?

The Department will present a 45-minute Webinar on Friday, February 12 at 9 am. To register for this Webinar, go tohttp://www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/Recovery/Funding.shtml#State_Energy_Program

For additional information or questions, contact Ann Grim at ann.grim@state.or.us

-Innovation Partnership

Congress's "Jobs Bill" Update!

December 10th, 2009

We have been tracking Congress's work on the Jobs Bill intended for passage before their recess and we've just heard that the school deferred maintenance $$ (about $10 Billion, or $100 Million for Oregon) is part of the Jobs Bills that President Obama discussed yesterday. Adding to this great news is that it is expected to be approved before Congress recesses on the 18th.

Click here for a .pdf of additional info that was used as the justification for including deferred maintenance. It is still unclear how the dollars will be allocated. They're looking at both Title 1 formulas and unemployment percentages. Oregon wins either way. It is also unclear whether school facility dollars will go to Governor's office as part of the whole jobs bill and then to DOE OR to you all directly (depends most on the allocation method).

It is also unclear what impact the Jobs Bill will have on Senator Harkin's budgeted Facility line item or Rep Miller's bill that's been through the House. Nonetheless, we'll know by Congress's recess on December 18th whether there are deferred maintenance dollars headed for Oregon.

-Innovation Partnership

June 4th School Facility Issue Breakfast Recap

On June 4th, the Center for Innovative School Facilities and the Oregon Association of Education Service Districts hosted an Issue Breakfast on School Facilities. The event was attended by more than 125 of Oregon's Business, Government, Labor, Community, and Education leaders.

The breakfast featured emerging statistics and trends in Oregon's schools and a call to action to improve our learning environments. To read the Briefing Book from the Issue Breakfast, click here.

The Issue Breakfast included a strong call to action. As Ryan Deckert said during his opening, "It really is up to Oregon communities to rally around our schools and do it together. After all, education is the bedrock of our society."

Please take the time to contact your state and federal representatives and tell them that Oregon's students deserve better. Below is a contact list for the federal delegation. Currently, a bill authorizing an annual school facility allocation has passed the House and is in committee in the Senate (info below). Check back here for continued updates.

Speakers included:

Click here for the Agenda and Basic Facts

HB 3476: Predevelopment Planning Fund

HB 2013: Statewide Building Assessment

School Facility Funding Bill Passed in House

On May 14th, the US House passed a bill allocating money to school districts across the country. The bill now moves to the Senate, which had been working on a different facility funding bill. To read the House Bill,
click here.

The Senate Bill is currently in committee. To read the full text, click here.

To see a comparison of the two bills, click here.

Final Verbiage on the Economic Stimulus Package

President Obama recently signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law.

Read the full bill here.

Tax Credit Bonds for Schools

Oregon has been allocated $112,886,000 in Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCB). The interest on these bonds will be refunded through the use of tax credits. In some cases, interest payments can account for 50% of the cost of bonding. These bonds can be issued by any entity that has bnd authority on behalf of a school district as long as (1) 100% of the available project proceeds are used for construction, rehabilitation, or repair of public school facilities, (2) the bond is issued by a State of local government within the jurisdiction of which such school is located, and (3) the issuer designates such bonds for purposes of this section.

Click here for more details.

The Tax Credit Bonds for Schools section of the ARRA (pg. 241) expands on the Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) program which gives states money to run their own QZAB-like programs. Click here for more details.