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| To enact section 3327.18 of the Revised Code to | 1 |
| establish the School District Transportation | 2 |
| Consolidation Pilot Program and to make an | 3 |
| appropriation. | 4 |
| Section 1. That section 3327.18 of the Revised Code be | 5 |
| enacted to read as follows: | 6 |
| Sec. 3327.18. (A) The school district transportation | 7 |
| consolidation pilot program is hereby established. Under the | 8 |
| program, the department of education shall award grants on a | 9 |
| competitive basis to consortia of school districts and educational | 10 |
| service centers that enter into agreements to regionalize student | 11 |
| transportation. To be eligible to receive a grant under this | 12 |
| section, a consortium shall consist of two or more school | 13 |
| districts and an educational service center which have entered | 14 |
| into mutual agreements whereby participating school districts | 15 |
| equitably share costs of student transportation as arranged and | 16 |
| coordinated by the educational service center. The purpose of each | 17 |
| grant awarded under this section shall be to pay start-up costs | 18 |
| associated with the regionalization agreement. No single grant | 19 |
| award shall exceed five million dollars. The participating | 20 |
| educational service center shall be the fiscal agent for the grant | 21 |
| award. | 22 |
| (B) The regionalization agreement between the participating | 23 |
| school districts and educational service center supported by any | 24 |
| grant awarded under this section shall specify, at a minimum, the | 25 |
| following: | 26 |
| (1) A stipulation that a portion of the moneys received under | 27 |
| the grant shall be used for covering costs associated with | 28 |
| implementing the regionalization agreement, including the purchase | 29 |
| of additional school buses and other goods and services necessary | 30 |
| to implement the agreement. | 31 |
| (2) The manner in which any savings resulting from the | 32 |
| regionalization agreement will be shared among the participating | 33 |
| school districts; | 34 |
| (3) Whether or not the educational service center shall | 35 |
| contract with a regional transit authority or other approved | 36 |
| transportation provider to provide transportation services to | 37 |
| students; | 38 |
| (4) A stipulation specifying the materials and financial | 39 |
| resources that may be contributed by the participating school | 40 |
| districts; | 41 |
| (5) The aggregate fees to be charged by the fiscal agent and | 42 |
| any agency with which it subcontracts to cover personnel and | 43 |
| program costs with administering the agreement. Such fees shall | 44 |
| not exceed seven per cent of the value of the agreement and shall | 45 |
| be subject to controlling board approval if in excess of four per | 46 |
| cent of the value of the agreement. | 47 |
| (C)(1) Not later than December 31, 2015, a school district | 48 |
| that participates in a grant awarded under this section shall | 49 |
| report to the department on the progress and outcomes of the pilot | 50 |
| program. | 51 |
| (2) Not later than July 1, 2016, the department shall issue a | 52 |
| report to the general assembly, in accordance with section 101.68 | 53 |
| of the Revised Code, and to the governor, based on the reports | 54 |
| under division (B)(1) of this section, on the progress and | 55 |
| outcomes of the pilot program. | 56 |
| (D) The amount paid to or spent on behalf of a school | 57 |
| district under this section is in addition to any amount | 58 |
| calculated and paid to the district under section 3317.0212 of the | 59 |
| Revised Code. | 60 |
| (E) The pilot project established under this section shall | 61 |
| cease to exist on July 1, 2018. | 62 |
| Section 2. All items in this section are hereby appropriated | 63 |
| as designated out of any moneys in the state treasury to the | 64 |
| credit of the designated fund. For all appropriations made in this | 65 |
| act, those in the first column are for fiscal year 2014 and those | 66 |
| in the second column are for fiscal year 2015. The appropriations | 67 |
| made in this act are in addition to any other appropriations made | 68 |
| for the FY 2014-FY 2015 biennium. | 69 |
| Appropriations |
| 70 | |
| General Revenue Fund | 71 |
| GRF | 200466 | Transportation Consolidation Grants | $ | 25,000,000 | $ | 25,000,000 | 72 | ||||
| TOTAL GRF General Revenue Fund | $ | 25,000,000 | $ | 25,000,000 | 73 | ||||||
| TOTAL ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS | $ | 25,000,000 | $ | 25,000,000 | 74 | ||||||
| TRANSPORTATION CONSOLIDATION GRANTS | 75 |
| The foregoing appropriation item 200466, Transportation | 76 |
| Consolidation Grants, shall be used by the Department of Education | 77 |
| to award grants under the School District Transportation | 78 |
| Consolidation Pilot Program pursuant to section 3327.18 of the | 79 |
| Revised Code. | 80 |
| An amount equal to the unexpended, unencumbered portion of | 81 |
| the foregoing appropriation item 200466, Transportation | 82 |
| Consolidation Grants, at the end of fiscal year 2014 is hereby | 83 |
| reappropriated to the Department of Education for the same purpose | 84 |
| for fiscal year 2015. | 85 |
| Section 3. Within the limits set forth in this act, the | 86 |
| Director of Budget and Management shall establish accounts | 87 |
| indicating the source and amount of funds for each appropriation | 88 |
| made in this act, and shall determine the form and manner in which | 89 |
| appropriation accounts shall be maintained. Expenditures from | 90 |
| appropriations contained in this act shall be accounted for as | 91 |
| though made in the main operating appropriations act of the 130th | 92 |
| General Assembly. | 93 |
| The appropriations made in this act are subject to all | 94 |
| provisions of the main operating appropriations act of the 130th | 95 |
| General Assembly that are generally applicable to such | 96 |
| appropriations. | 97 |