Wyo. Code R. 027-0002-8
Chapter 8: Criteria for Identifying and Prioritizing Remedies, and Establishing Project Budgets
Effective Date: 02/02/2022 to 05/09/2024
Rule Type: Superceded Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 027.0002.8.02022022
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 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 three schedules described in Section 4 of this Chapter.
Section 4. Prioritization of Building Remediation. The Commission shall annually evaluate the adequacy of the State's school buildings and facilities and make appropriation recommendations to the Legislature for funding based upon three schedules provided by the Department: condition, capacity, and a consolidated schedule. The consolidated schedule shall prioritize building and facility needs from the most critical to the least critical. These three schedules shall be calculated as described in this section.
(a) Capacity schedule. The capacity schedule shall be prioritized based on projected capacity calculated in accordance with this subsection.
(i) The Department shall calculate building capacity and enrollment projections based on the Commission's methodologies incorporated by reference in Chapter 3 of these Rules.
(ii) For the purposes of 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 shall be the basis for prioritization under this subsection.
(iv) The Commission may direct the Department to adjust projections in accordance with the Commission's enrollment projection methodology.
(v) Capacity ranking. District capacity needs shall be ranked in the following manner on the capacity schedule:
(A) Districts with projected capacity exceeding 100% shall be deemed to have a high capacity need.
(B) Districts with a projected capacity between 100% and 90% shall be deemed to have a medium capacity need. When a school reaches a medium capacity need, or higher, the Department shall work with the district to determine the type of remedy most likely to resolve the capacity need in a timely and cost-effective manner.
(C) Districts with a projected capacity below 90% shall be deemed to have a low capacity need.
(b) Condition schedule. The condition schedule shall be prioritized based on FCI score. District condition needs shall be ranked in the following manner on the condition schedule:
(i) Schools with an FCI score exceeding 0.65 shall be deemed to have a high condition need.
(ii) Schools with an FCI score between 0.55 and 0.65 shall be deemed to have a medium condition need. When a school reaches a medium condition need, or higher, the Department shall work with the district to determine the type of remedy most likely to resolve the condition need in a timely and cost-effective manner.
(iii) Schools with an FCI score below 0.55 shall be deemed to have a low condition need.
(c) Prioritization of the consolidated schedule shall be based on the Composite Need Score calculated in accordance with this subsection.
(i) The Composite Need Score shall be calculated using the following formula:
$$\text{Composite Need Score} = (\text{Capacity Need Score} \times 0.55) + (\text{FCI} \times 0.45)$$
(ii) Capacity Needs Score shall be calculated pursuant to this paragraph.
(A) 'SPC' means School Projected Capacity and shall be calculated by dividing a school's projected enrollment by its projected capacity, which shall account for remedies anticipated to be completed within the projection period. A SPC of greater than 1.4 shall be rounded down to 1.4.
(B) 'CPC' means Configuration Projected Capacity and shall be calculated by dividing a configuration's projected enrollment by its projected capacity, which shall account for remedies anticipated to be completed within the projection period. A CPC of greater than 1.4 shall be rounded down to 1.4.
(C) “DPC” means District Projected Capacity and shall be calculated by dividing a district’s projected enrollment by its projected capacity, which shall account for remedies anticipated to be completed within the projection period. A DPC of greater than 1.4 shall be rounded down to 1.4.
(D) “WS” means Weighting Factor for SPC and shall be .2.
(E) “WC” means Weighting Factor for CPC and shall be .7.
(F) “WD” means Weighting Factor for DPC and shall be .1.
(G) The Capacity Needs Score shall be calculated using the following formula:
$$\text{Capacity Needs Score} = W^S \frac{\text{SPC}}{1.4} + W^C \frac{\text{CPC}}{1.4} + W^D \frac{\text{DPC}}{1.4}$$
(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).
(a) The Department shall prepare budgets based on the consolidated remediation schedule. Each budget shall include, but is not limited to, land, project planning, design, construction, and on-site and off-site infrastructure.
(b) The Commission may, by majority vote, adjust the rankings on the consolidated remediation schedule for each budget period to ensure that the schedule ranks buildings from most critical to least critical needs, as provided in this subsection.
(i) Any Commissioner may propose a change to the consolidated schedule by providing notice to the Department at least ten (10) business days in advance of a scheduled Commission meeting. Upon receipt of notice from a Commissioner pursuant to this paragraph, the Department shall provide the notice to all districts potentially affected by the proposed change.
(ii) For any decision to adjust the rankings, the Commission shall make specific findings on the record regarding the relative need of all projects whose ranking is affected.
(iii) No changes shall be made to the ranking of the consolidated remediation schedule for a budget period after the Commission’s May meeting, absent a showing of an emergency.
(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, and the annual building status report specified under W.S. 21-15-121.
(a) The Department shall consider various criteria in making a recommendation to the Commission regarding the most cost effective remedy of identified school building and facility needs to deliver quality educational services and to meet adequacy standards.
(i) Facility Design Standards and Guidelines, methodologies, procedures and policies of the Commission shall be considered by the Department, in consultation with the district, and appropriate data and facts shall be reported, which may be presented as a formal study identifying possible remedies to assist the Commission. The Department may utilize outside consultants to conduct studies.
(ii) The Department shall consider the following non-exclusive list of factors in making a recommendation concerning the most cost effective remedy, in addition to other factors it considers applicable under the circumstances:
(A) The district facility plan;
(B) Any available non-construction alternatives, including grade reconfiguration and non-capital remedies;
(C) The availability of major building and facility repair and replacement funds;
(D) District enrollment projections;
(E) The educational building or facility’s design capacity and square footage;
(F) Immediacy of the need for a remedy;
(G) Compliance with statewide adequacy standards as outlined in Chapter 3 of these Rules;
(H) The prescribed statewide educational program;
(I) 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; and (J) Site, utilities, pavements, and other physical data and characteristics that may impact a proposed method of remediation, including availability of existing school sites or district-owned land or the need to acquire land.
(b) The Commission may make a determination of the most cost effective remedy following the Department’s recommendation by majority vote of the Commission. The Commission may take notice of studies commissioned by districts or the Department, 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.
(c) The Commission may change its recommendation for the most cost effective remedy at any time.
[the entire appendix has been omitted for the sake of length but is proposed for deletion in its entirety]