The Ohio School Facilities Commission (OSFC) is preparing to move forward with seven to 10 new construction projects after the approval of the capital reappropriations bill (HB462) on Wednesday.
OSFC Executive Director Richard Murray briefed members of the commission Thursday on the bill’s impact, saying it allocates an additional $525 million that will be used to help fund the projects of seven to 10 districts in the coming year.
He said without the funds in HB462, the OSFC would have had to wait at least another six months to continue forward with the construction program.
OSFC had pushed for the funds in HB462 with the capital bill apparently delayed until after the election. With approval of the legislation, he said OSFC will begin the process of selecting the school districts that will be eligible and notifying those districts by July so they can prepare to put a local share levy on the November ballot.
He said it is necessary to secure new money because the money set aside from the tobacco securitization fund has already been committed.
Among the actions of the OSFC on Thursday was approval of new grants to make repairs on completed projects.
Murray said the fund that the grants come from allows the repairs to be made immediately while the commission goes after the party responsible for the shoddy work. He called it “frustrating” that the commission has had to go back and fix things on already completed projects.