198:15-hh Annual Grant for Leased Space. –
I. The amount of the annual grant for a lease to any school district duly organized, any city maintaining a school department within its corporate organization, any cooperative school district as defined in RSA 195:1, or any receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, shall be a sum equal to 30 percent of the amount of the annual payment of the lease incurred, for the cost of leasing permanent space in a building or buildings not owned by the school district or school administrative unit which is used for the operation of a high school vocational technical education program, to the extent approved by the state board of education. For the purposes of this section, the amount of the annual grant for a lease to a vocational technical education center shall be calculated in the same manner as a cooperative school district. The amount of the annual grant for a chartered public school authorized under RSA 194-B:3-a shall be a sum equal to 30 percent of the annual lease payment incurred for the cost of leasing space; provided that no annual grant for leased space provided to a chartered public school in accordance with this section shall exceed $50,000 in any fiscal year. The total amount of grants to schools pursuant to this section shall not exceed the state appropriation for leased space. If the amount appropriated is insufficient therefor, the appropriation shall be prorated proportionally among the schools eligible for a grant. Such lease agreements shall be eligible for grants under this section, provided all of the following conditions apply:
(a) A school district, city, cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, or chartered public school authorized under RSA 194-B:3-a, which receives grants under this section shall remain eligible to apply for, receive, and expend moneys from other state or federal sources made available for the purpose of purchasing new equipment, materials, or supplies necessary for the operation of the program. Moneys received from such other state or federal sources shall not be used to make permanent upgrades or renovations to the leased space.
(b) A lease agreement for permanent space shall be adopted in the same manner as required by law for the passage of construction bonds in the school district, city, cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, or receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1. A lease agreement for a chartered public school shall be approved by the chartered public school board of trustees pursuant to RSA 194-B:5, III(c).
(c) An initial lease agreement for a term of 10 years or less shall be eligible to receive grants under this section. Upon renewal, a lease agreement may remain eligible to receive grants, provided the commissioner of the department of education determines that the lease agreement represents an efficient use of state and local resources.
(d) In any fiscal year where the state pays a pro rata share of school building aid grants, the state shall pay the same pro rata share for lease agreements approved under this section.
II. Lease agreements for the use of portable or modular classroom space shall not be eligible for grants.
III. A school district, city, cooperative school district, joint maintenance agreement, receiving district operating an area school as defined in RSA 195-A:1, or chartered public school authorized under RSA 194-B:3-a shall submit details of the lease arrangement, including a copy of the proposed lease agreement, in writing to the state board of education on such forms as the state board may prescribe. Grant applications for leased space shall be submitted before January 1 of each year in order to be eligible for grants in the fiscal year following the year of submittal. The state board of education shall, no later than March 1, 2004, adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to procedures for grant applications for leased space.
IV. Any state aid for leased space pursuant to this section shall require a separate appropriation, and shall not be included in the state appropriation for school building aid.
Source. 2003, 296:5, eff. July 1, 2003. 2011, 193:1, 2, eff. Aug. 13, 2011. 2012, 275:9, eff. Aug. 18, 2012. 2019, 346:56, eff. July 1, 2019. 2021, 91:313, eff. July 1, 2021. 2023, 35:4, eff. July 1, 2023.