Unpacking the School Construction Legislation

March 2, 2018 

Robin Clark Eilenberg

Conduit Street

The 31-page bill based on recommendations from the 21st Century School Facilities Commission has many elements of importance to county governments.

The Knott Commission bill, expecting to be a major piece of legislation in the 2018 Session of the General Assembly has now been introduced.

One of the main questions with regard to the Knott Commission’s recommendations were how its main suggestion – that the State conduct an assessment of every school facility in use and rank them – would affect the State’s priorities for school construction funding.

HB 1783 leaves that question for another day by establishing a work group to review the results of the first assessment and whether the results should be incorporated into school construction funding decisions. The 9-member Work Group on the Assessment and Funding of School Facilities would be chaired by the State Superintendent of Schools and would include a representative of MACo.

Other elements of the bill particular interest to county governments include some of the following items.

Read more HERE