1. (a) The department shall issue an intent to fund (ITF) letter for the top-ranked projects until all building aid funds available are allocated, or until no projects remain on the list.

2. (b) The ITF letter shall include the following:

   1. (1) Name and address of the school building;
   2. (2) Project title;
   3. (3) Maximum grant amount calculated pursuant to Ed 321.19;
   4. (4) Documentation of building aid rate pursuant to RSA 198:15-b;
   5. (5) Approved design capacity in accordance with Ed 321.08;
   6. (6) Maximum eligible land size in accordance with Ed 321.07;
   7. (7) Maximum eligible building size in accordance with Ed 321.09;
   8. (8) Maximum allowable construction cost standard in accordance with Ed 321.22;
   9. (9) Documentation of any waiver decisions requested as part of the application in accordance with Ed 321.34; and
   10. (10) Any other information the department deems necessary to ensure a successful project.
3. (c) The superintendent or charter school director shall have 30 calendar days to sign and submit the ITF letter to the department before the funds are offered to the next highest-ranked project.
4. (d) Except as allowed in (g) below, project applicants that did not sign and submit the ITF letter within 30 calendar days shall not return to the prioritized list, but the school district or charter school may reapply.
5. (e) By submitting the signed ITF letter, the school district or charter school shall have 32 months to obtain approval from the school district’s legislative body or charter school’s board of trustees.
6. (f) For applicants that signed and submitted the ITF letter, the superintendent or charter school director or designee thereof shall submit to the department quarterly updates on the project status until a notice of completion has been submitted to the department in accordance with Ed 321.27.
7. (g) Project applicants that were offered a reduced award due to the lack of state building aid funds and did not sign and submit the ITF letter within 30 calendar days shall return to the prioritized list in the same ranked order provided the items in (i) below are submitted by the following May 1.
8. (h) Except for projects that received a building aid award, any ITF letter shall be reissued in accordance with these rules.

9. (i) Project applicants that did not receive an ITF letter shall return to the prioritized list in the same ranked order, provided the following is submitted by May 1 each year:

   1. (1) Except as allowed by (j) below, an attestation that construction has not started;
   2. (2) Updated estimated project costs and documents, if applicable;

   3. (3) Meeting minutes from the school board or board of trustees approving the following:

      1. a. The board’s desire to have the project remain on the prioritized list;
      2. b. The estimated project cost listed on the application or as revised in (2) above; and
      3. c. If the project applicant is a school district, a statement that if the project is selected for building aid, the board has a desire to seek approval from the district’s legislative body to construct the project subject to receiving building aid; and
   4. (4) If applicable, an updated project scope, revised plans, and a description of why these changes do not impact the ranking.
10. (j) Improvements made to the school facility to address any deficiency in which the project was ranked on, including health, safety, or energy efficiency improvements, shall not remove the project from the ranked list unless specific in (d) above, or (k)-(n) below. Any work done prior to receiving a grant award notification (GAN) in accordance with Ed 321.18 shall not be eligible for building aid.
11. (k) If project applicants fail to submit the items in accordance with (i) above, the project shall not return to the prioritized list, but the school district or charter school may reapply.
12. (l) Except for improvements allowed by (j) above, if changes are made to the proposed project and the proposed project no longer addresses the criteria for which the original application was scored and ranked, the project shall not return to the prioritized list, but the school district or charter school may reapply.
13. (m) Projects that have a signed ITF letter but were unable to obtain approval from the school district’s legislative body or charter school’s board of trustees within 32 months of the date of issuance shall forfeit the award and not return to the prioritized list, but the school district or charter school may reapply.
14. (n) Projects that have a signed ITF letter but were unable to submit the documentation required in Ed 321.18(a) by June 30, 12 months following the approval from the school district’s legislative body or charter school’s board of trustees, shall forfeit the award and not return to the prioritized list, but the school district or charter school may reapply.
15. (o) A school board or board of trustees may request a waiver pursuant to Ed 321.34 for the amount of time needed to complete (n) above, provided there is an agreed upon timeline between the school district or charter school and the department, and the delay is due to an unanticipated event.

Source. #8265, eff 1-22-05; ss by #10363, eff 6-15-13; ss by #13054, eff 6-12-20 (formerly Ed 321.18); ss by #14023, eff 7-12-24; ss by #14215, eff 3-14-25