(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, the estimate of average daily attendance for an applicant school district shall be calculated for up to and including two years longer than the period of time permitted by Section 17040, as requested by the district, where 50 percent or more of the cost of the project is provided by the district from funding sources other than any state program administered by the board. For the purposes of any subsequent project application from that district based upon additional growth in pupil enrollment, the estimate of average daily attendance shall be based on enrollment projections for any period of time, as requested by the district, up to and including that permitted by Section 17040.

(b) The project shall be “fast tracked.” For purposes of this section, “fast tracking” means that the total amount of project funding eligibility shall be established upon the board’s approval of the project, which shall be subsequently disbursed as necessary for the development and construction of the project without the prerequisite of any additional state certification or other state-conducted review of project eligibility. Based upon the results of an audit to be conducted upon completion of the project, the board or the applicant district, as appropriate, shall pay to the other any amount that is necessary to conform to the allocation of project costs determined upon the board’s approval of the project.

In the event that the applicant district has not executed all contractual agreements necessary for the complete construction of the project within a period of 18 months following the board’s approval of the project, this subdivision shall cease to apply to the project with regard to any state funding of the project not yet disbursed. Upon request of the applicant district and approval by the board, this 18-month period may be extended for an additional period of up to six months to account for one or more delays resulting from circumstances beyond the district’s control.

(Added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 277, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1997. Operative January 1, 1998.)