STATE ALLOCATION BOARD DIVVIES UP $225 MILLION AMONG SCHOOLS

By Capitol Weekly Staff

Thursday, November 06, 2008 -- The State Allocation Board, the state office that decides how state funds are disbursed for the construction and renovation of public schools, has approved payments totaling $225 million for some 310 public schools, or an average of nearly $726,000 per school. The board, in the state government flow chart, is linked to the Office of Public School Construction and the Department of General Services.

The disbursement, announced by the governor’s office, includes more than $192 million in grants from voter-approved Proposition 1D, which will be used to pay for new construction and modernization projects at 46 schools throughout the state.  Proposition 1D also funds projects that allow public school campuses to incorporate more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly features into their designs.

Of the $192 million in Proposition 1D funds, the board allocated $480,000 of the “green schools” funding to two schools – Valley View Elementary in El Dorado County and McElhinney Middle School in Riverside County.

Proposition 1D was part of the $10 billion voter-approved bond measure supported by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of his Strategic Growth Plan in 2006.  Since 2007, more than $2.8 billion of Proposition 1D funds have been issued to school districts statewide.

In addition, the board awarded $16 million from Propositions 47 and 55 – which were approved by voters in 2002 – to fund construction projects at two schools. Across the state, 269 other schools will also receive more than $16 million from the state general fund to make emergency repairs.

In 2006, California voters approved borrowing some $42 billion to pay for improvements and expansion of the state’s infrastructure. The borrowing was pushed by Schwarzenegger.

“Since then, the governor has facilitated and expedited the allocation of billions of dollars from the 2006 infrastructure bonds to launch key projects, create jobs and stimulate California’s economy,” the governor’s press office said.

According to the administration, the governor has announced a series of public spending decisions. Those include:

• $624.6 million in Proposition 1C and Proposition 46 in housing bond funding.
• About $136 million in Proposition 1B funds for 99 transit projects statewide.
• An allocation of $2 billion since 2007 in Proposition 1D funds for new construction and modernization projects for schools statewide, including construction and modernization of 29 charter schools.
• About $382 million in Proposition 1B funds for transportation projects across the state.
• $3.5 billion in Proposition 1B bond funds for transportation and goods movement projects across the state.
• $394 million in Proposition 1B bond funding for 106 transit projects statewide.
• $40 million for port security from Proposition 1B funds.
• $73 million for affordable housing projects in Proposition 1C and Proposition 46 funds to help more than 1,600 California families rent or purchase affordable housing.
• $211 million for expedited implementation in Proposition 1E funds to four critical levee improvement projects in Northern California.  
• $69.5 million in permanent low-interest loans from the Proposition 1C housing bonds to jump-start 14 affordable multifamily projects up and down the state, helping more than 1,000 California families and individuals realize the dream of an affordable rental home.