Wyo. Code R. 027-0002-8
Chapter 8: Criteria for Identifying and Prioritizing Remedies, and Establishing Project Budgets
Effective Date: 05/09/2024 to Current
Rule Type: Current Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 027.0002.8.05092024
Section 1. Authority. This Chapter is promulgated pursuant to Wyoming Statutes 21-15-114(a)(xv); 21-15-117(a); 21-15-119(a), (c); 21-15-121(a); and 28-11-301(c)(iv).
Section 2. Inventory. The Department shall prepare and maintain an inventory of district-owned school buildings and facilities.
Section 3. Assessment of Building and Facility Needs. The Department shall develop and the Commission shall approve as a policy a comprehensive facility assessment guide. This guide shall include an assessment that measures and quantifies educational building condition and capacity needs on a statewide basis. The Department, in coordination with districts, shall use this guide in the assessment of buildings and facilities under W.S. 21-15-117(a) and the results of this assessment shall be used in the development of the two schedules described in § 4 of this Chapter.
Section 4. Building Needs Schedules. The Commission shall annually evaluate the adequacy of the State's school buildings and facilities and develop two building needs schedules: condition and capacity.
(a) Capacity Schedule. The capacity schedule shall be based on projected capacity, calculated in accordance with this subsection, and the needs identified in accordance with § 5(a) of this Chapter.
(i) The Department shall calculate building capacity and enrollment projections based on the Commission's methodologies incorporated by reference in Chapter 3 § 9(a)(i) and (ii) of these Rules.
(ii) For the purposes of capacity projections, the construction time for capital remedies shall be presumed to be three (3) years, and the Department shall project enrollments over a five (5) year projection period beginning upon the presumed completion of a construction period, in accordance with W.S. 21-15-117(a)(iii).
(iii) The Department shall use the projected enrollments by configuration to calculate an expected rate of change and apply that rate of change to each building in that configuration. This projected enrollment and any studies performed pursuant to § 5 of this Chapter shall be the basis for generating the capacity schedule.
(iv) The Commission may direct the Department to adjust projections in accordance with § 4(d) of the Commission's enrollment projection methodology, as incorporated in Chapter 3 § 9(a)(i) of these Rules.
(b) Condition Schedule. The condition schedule shall be based on FCI score, as calculated in accordance with this subsection, and the needs identified in accordance with § 5(a) of this Chapter.
(i) The Department shall use the FCI calculations from the most recent Facilities Condition Assessment;
(ii) For the purposes of compiling the condition schedule, the Commission shall use FCI scores projected five (5) years from the current year and any studies performed pursuant to § 5 of this Chapter.
(iii) The Commission may include in the condition schedule any school building determined to have a remediation need under Chapter 3 § 8 of these rules.
(c) The Commission shall utilize the results of the most cost-effective remedy studies conducted under § 5 of this Chapter to prioritize the capacity and condition schedules. Needs identified under § 5(a) that have not yet received a most cost-effective remedy study shall not be prioritized but shall be included in the schedule and identified as needing a most cost-effective remedy determination.
(d) The Commission may periodically review and verify needs assessment data and building and facility ratings for condition and capacity to ensure the assessments provide timely and uniform data in accordance with W.S. 21-15-117(a).
Section 5. Identification and Determination of the Most Cost-Effective Remedy. The Department shall conduct most cost-effective remedy studies pursuant to this Section.
(a) The Department shall conduct a most-cost effective remedy study for any school building or facility that:
(i) Has a projected capacity exceeding one hundred percent (100%), calculated pursuant to § 4(a) of this Chapter;
(ii) Has an FCI score exceeding 0.3, calculated pursuant to § 4(b) of this Chapter; or
(iii) Is inadequate to deliver the required educational services as determined by the Commission pursuant to Chapter 3 § 8 of these Rules.
(b) Procurement, Conduct, and Scope of Studies.
(i) The Department may self-perform a most cost-effective remedy study or utilize outside consultants. For any studies that the Department elects to conduct itself, it shall utilize and may rely upon the available FCI data for that school building or facility.
(ii) The Department shall retain control over the direction of all studies, but shall, to the greatest extent practicable, consult with the affected district and provide a reasonable opportunity for district involvement.
(iii) The Department may consider needs related to multiple buildings in a single study, including building needs that may not qualify for a study under the thresholds established in Subsection (a) of this Section.
(iv) Where the Department has studied multiple buildings, it may recommend a remedy involving more than one building if it concludes that this is in the best long-term financial interests of the State and presents the most cost-effective means of remedying the district’s facility needs.
(c) The Department and any consultants shall consider the following criteria, as applicable, in identifying the most cost-effective remedy for school building and facility needs to deliver quality educational services and to meet adequacy standards:
(i) The requirements of the Uniform Adequacy Standards, Facility Design Standards and Guidelines, methodologies, procedures, and policies of the Commission;
(ii) Appropriate data and facts concerning the condition, capacity, and adequacy of the identified school building or buildings;
(iii) The district facility plan;
(iv) Any available non-construction alternatives;
(v) The availability of major building and facility repair and replacement funds to address the identified need;
(vi) District enrollment projections and all available FCI projections;
(vii) The educational building or facility’s design capacity and square footage;
(viii) The immediacy of the need for a remedy;
(ix) The prescribed statewide educational program;
(x) The total project cost and estimated budget for all determined remedies to address the identified need in comparison to the benefit expected to be derived from each remedy;
(xi) School district input, including but not limited to a consultation with the district and any studies commissioned by the district and presented to the Department; and
(xii) Any other appropriate factor.
(d) Upon completing its evaluation, the Department shall prepare a formal recommendation and report identifying the most cost-effective remedy for the identified building or facility. The Department's recommendation shall contain:
(i) An identification and explanation of the recommended remedy, including the estimated cost and anticipated budget request;
(ii) The rationale for the recommended remedy, including any cost, lifespan, condition, and capacity data considered by the Department; and
(iii) Any alternative remedies considered by the Department and the reason for rejecting those alternatives.
(e) Upon completing its recommendation, the Department shall provide a complete copy of its recommendation to the district.
(i) If the district concurs with the Department's recommendation, the Department shall present the recommendation and full report to the Commission.
(ii) If the district disagrees with the Department's recommendation, the district shall have thirty (30) days to request an informal review of the recommendation pursuant to Chapter 2 § 4 of these Rules. Any such request shall conform to the requirements of Chapter 2 § 4(b) of these Rules.
(A) If the district requests informal review, the Department shall not present its recommendation to the Commission until after the informal review process is complete.
(B) Upon conclusion of the informal review process, the Department shall compile an updated report and recommendation for the Commission, which shall include the record from the informal review. If the Department does not recommend the district's preferred remedy to the Commission, the Department shall include the district's desired alternative in the list required by paragraph (d)(iii) of this Section of this Chapter along with the Director's written decision from the informal review. The district may present its preferred remedy at the Commission meeting where consideration of the Department's most cost-effective remedy recommendation is scheduled to occur.
(iii) If the district does not notify the Department of its concurrence or request an informal review within thirty (30) days of the Department providing its recommendation to the district, the Department may present the recommendation and a full copy of the report to the Commission.
(f) Upon receipt of the Department's recommendation, the Commission shall make a determination of the most cost-effective remedy.
(i) The Commission shall issue a written determination explaining and supporting its determination of the most cost-effective remedy. The Commission may adopt a recommended decision as its own written determination or direct staff to draft a new determination.
(ii) The Commission may take notice of studies commissioned by districts and presented to the Department during an informal review, but such an action shall not bind the Commission to approve the recommendations of the study or to include them in the Commission’s recommendations to the Legislature.
(g) The Commission’s determination of the most cost-effective remedy is a final agency action.
(h) After a most cost-effective remedy determination for an identified capacity or condition need, the Department shall update its report and recommendations to the Commission as necessary and appropriate to account for changed circumstances. Such circumstances may include, but are not limited to, changes in the relevant FCI score or school capacity, economic circumstances, or the anticipated cost of the identified most cost-effective remedy. The Commission may change its determination of the most cost-effective remedy at any time on its own initiative, upon request of the district, or upon receiving the Department’s updated report and recommendation pursuant to this Subsection.
(a) The Department shall prepare a budget proposal each year based on the capacity and condition schedules, any most cost-effective remedy studies undertaken pursuant to § 5 of this Chapter, and recommendations it has prepared under Chapter 3 § 8 of these Rules. This budget proposal may also contain recommendations for funds necessary to complete future studies, including but not limited to most-cost effective remedy studies, as the Department concludes are necessary in order to carry out its mission. The Department shall present its budget proposal to the Commission sufficiently in advance of the Commission’s statutory deadline to submit a budget recommendation to the Select Committee on School Facilities such that the Commission may consider the budget proposal as it formulates that recommendation.
(b) The Commission shall prepare budgets and recommend projects to the Select Committee on School Facilities based on the capacity and condition schedules, any reports received pursuant to Chapter 3 § 8 of these Rules, and most cost-effective remedy studies and determinations. Each budget shall include, but is not limited to, land, project planning, design, construction, and on-site and off-site infrastructure.
(c) Using accepted accounting standards and the principles outlined above, the Commission shall, not later than September 1 of each year, prepare and submit to the Governor and the Select Committee on School Facilities, a proposed budget, the prioritized list of projects proposed for funding, the amount of funding allocated to each project, the assessments conducted by the Commission of condition and capacity, any notices received from a district pursuant to
Chapter 3 § 8 of these Rules and the Department’s report pertaining thereto, and the annual building status report specified under W.S. 21-15-121.