Education

Facilities & Technology - Deferred Maintenance

Statewide Outcome(s):

Deferred Maintenance Revenue supports the following statewide outcome(s).

Minnesotans have the education and skills needed to achieve their goals.

Context:

School districts, students, and taxpayers are better served through healthy, well-maintained facilities, and through extension of facility life. Having a dedicated revenue source for deferred maintenance allows districts to schedule required capital projects essential to extending facility life. The deferred maintenance program was initiated by the 2005 legislature and was intended to decrease the level of disparity on a per pupil basis for facility maintenance and upkeep between districts that are eligible for alternative facility revenue and other school districts in the state.

Strategies:

Deferred maintenance revenue is an equalized aid and levy program providing dedicated funding for deferred facility maintenance revenue to school districts ineligible to participate in the alternative facilities bonding and levy program under Minnesota Statute (M.S.) 123B.59, subd. 1(a). This program, lessens, but does not close the disparity of funding on a per pupil basis for facility maintenance and upkeep between the 25 districts that are eligible for alternative facility revenue M.S. 123B.59 subd. 1(a), and other school districts in the state.

This is an equalized aid and levy program that began in FY 2008. Districts must levy their local share to participate in this program and receive aid, if eligible.

·         Deferred maintenance revenue for eligible districts equals the product of $60 times the adjusted marginal cost pupil units for the school year times the lesser of one or the ratio of the district’s average age of buildings space to 35 years.

·         Districts may levy an amount not more than the product of the deferred maintenance revenue for the fiscal year times the lesser of one or the ratio of the adjusted net tax capacity per adjusted marginal cost pupil unit to $5,900.

·         Deferred maintenance aid equals the deferred maintenance revenue minus the deferred maintenance levy times the ratio of the actual amount levied to the permitted levy.

Results:

MDE does not collect data on the condition of school district facilities.  The intention of facility funding is to provide a revenue stream for facility maintenance.  MDE can only report on how much state aid and district property tax is being utilized by districts.

Results:

Performance Measures Notes:

Previous data is from FY 2010 and current data is from FY 2013.

The 25 large districts eligible for deferred maintenance funding under the alternative facilities program are not subject to a cap on non-voter approved deferred maintenance revenue, while all other districts are limited to the amount allowable under the deferred maintenance revenue formula (up to $60 per pupil unit, depending on average building age). Assuming that deferred maintenance needs are similar for the two groups of districts, the gap in funding between the 25 large districts and all other districts is an indicator of the unmet need for deferred maintenance funding in the smaller districts.