Review and Comment Checklist
Review and Comment Checklist
The commissioner of Education is required under Minn. Stat. § 123B.71 (2002) to provide a review and comment on proposed school construction projects in excess of $500,000 per school site. A district must provide the following information on a proposed project. Submit a cover letter signed by the superintendent and the review and comment information in the A, B, C… format outlined below, including appendixes.
A. the geographic area and population to be served, preschool through grade 12 student enrollments for the past five years, and student enrollment projections for the next five years;
B. a list of existing school facilities by year constructed, their uses, and an assessment of the extent to which alternate facilities are available within the school district boundaries and in adjacent school districts;
C. a list of the specific deficiencies of the facility that demonstrate the need for a new or renovated facility to be provided, and a list of the specific benefits that the new or renovated facility will provide to the students, teachers, and community users served by the facility;
D. the relationship of the project to any priorities established by the school district, educational cooperatives that provide support services, or other public bodies in the service area;
E. a specification of how the project will increase community use of the facility and whether and how the project will increase collaboration with other governmental or nonprofit entities;
F. a narrative description of the project, including the specification of site and outdoor space acreage and square footage allocations for new and converted classrooms, labs, and support spaces. Include a floor plan of the project, if applicable. Specify estimated expenditures for the major portions of the project, and the dates the project will begin and be completed;
G. a specification of the source(s) of financing the project; the scheduled date and required notice for a bond issue or school board action; a schedule of payments, including debt service equalization aid; and the effect of a bond issue (or lease levy) on local property taxes by the property class and valuation;
H. an analysis of how the proposed new or remodeled facility will affect school district operational or administrative staffing costs, and how the district’s operating budget will cover any increased operational or administrative staffing costs;
I. a description of the consultation with local or state road and transportation officials on school site access and safety issues, and the ways that the project will address those issues;
J. a description of how indoor air quality issues have been considered and a written certification signed by the project architect that the architects and engineers designing the facility have professional liability insurance;
K. as required under Minn. Stat. § 123B.72 (2002), provide a written certification signed by the project architect that the plans and designs for the extensively renovated or new facility’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems will meet or exceed code standards, will provide for the monitoring of outdoor airflow and total airflow of ventilation systems, and will provide an indoor air quality filtration system that meets codes;
L. a specification, if applicable, of any desegregation requirements that cannot be met by any other reasonable means; and
M. a specification, if applicable, of how the facility will utilize environmentally sustainable school facility design concepts.
N. a description of how the architects and engineers have considered the American National Standards Institute Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirements and Guidelines for Schools of the maximum background noise level and reverberation times.
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