(A) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Chapter 3318. of the Revised Code, a school district board may apply any local donated contribution toward any of the following:

(1) The district's portion of the basic project cost of a project under either sections 3318.01 to 3318.20 or sections 3318.40 to 3318.45 of the Revised Code to reduce the amount of bonds the district otherwise must issue in order to receive state assistance under those sections;

(2) If the school district is not a joint vocational school district proceeding under sections 3318.40 to 3318.45 of the Revised Code, an offset of all or part of a district's obligation to levy the tax described in division (B) of section 3318.05 of the Revised Code, which shall be applied only in the manner prescribed in division (B) of this section;

(3) If the school district is a joint vocational school district proceeding under sections 3318.40 to 3318.45 of the Revised Code, all or part of the amount the school district is obligated to set aside for maintenance of the classroom facilities acquired under that project pursuant to section 3318.43 of the Revised Code.

(B) No school district board shall apply any local donated contribution under division (A)(2) of this section unless the Ohio facilities construction commission first approves that application.

Upon the request of the school district board to apply local donated contribution under division (A)(2) of this section, the commission in consultation with the department of taxation shall determine the amount of total revenue that likely would be generated by one-half mill of the tax described in division (B) of section 3318.05 of the Revised Code over the entire twenty-three-year period required under that section and shall deduct from that amount any amount of local donated contribution that the board has committed to apply under division (A)(2) of this section. The commission then shall determine in consultation with the department of taxation the rate of tax over twenty-three years necessary to generate the amount of a one-half mill tax not offset by the local donated contribution. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 3318.06, 3318.061, or 3318.361 of the Revised Code, the rate determined by the commission shall be the rate for which the district board shall seek elector approval under those sections to meet its obligation under division (B) of section 3318.05 of the Revised Code. In the case of a complete offset of the district's obligation under division (B) of section 3318.05 of the Revised Code, the district shall not be required to levy the tax otherwise required under that section. At the end of the twenty-three-year period of the tax required under division (B) of section 3318.05 of the Revised Code, whether or not the tax is actually levied, the commission in consultation of the department of taxation shall recalculate the amount that would have been generated by the tax if it had been levied at one-half mill. If the total amount actually generated over that period from both the tax that was actually levied and any local donated contribution applied under division (A)(2) of this section is less than the amount that would have been raised by a one-half mill tax, the district shall pay any difference. If the total amount actually raised in such manner is greater than the amount that would have been raised by a one-half mill tax the difference shall be zero and no payments shall be made by either the district or the commission.

(C) As used in this section, "local donated contribution" means any of the following:

(1) Any moneys irrevocably donated or granted to a school district board by a source other than the state which the board has the authority to apply to the school district's project under sections 3318.01 to 3318.20 of the Revised Code and which the board has pledged for that purpose by resolution adopted by a majority of its members;

(2) Any irrevocable letter of credit issued on behalf of a school district which the school district board has encumbered for payment of the school district's share of its project under sections 3318.01 to 3318.20 of the Revised Code that has been approved by the commission in consultation with the department of education;

(3) Any cash a school district has on hand that the school district board has encumbered for payment of the school district's share of its project under sections 3318.01 to 3318.20 of the Revised Code that has been approved by the commission in consultation with the department of education, including the following:

(a) Any year-end operating fund balances that can be spent for classroom facilities;

(b) Any cash resulting from a lease-purchase agreement that the school district board has entered into under section 3313.375 of the Revised Code, provided that the agreement and the related financing documents contain provisions protecting the state's superior interest in the project.

(4) Any moneys spent by a source other than the school district or the state for construction or renovation of specific classroom facilities that have been approved by the commission as part of the basic project cost of the district's project. The school district, the commission, and the entity providing the local donated contribution under division (C)(4) of this section shall enter into an agreement identifying the classroom facilities to be acquired by the expenditures made by that entity. The agreement shall include, but not be limited to, stipulations that require an audit by the commission of such expenditures made on behalf of the district and that specify the maximum amount of credit to be allowed for those expenditures. Upon completion of the construction or renovation, the commission shall determine the actual amount that the commission will credit, at the request of the district board, toward the district's portion of the basic project cost, any project cost overruns, or the basic project cost of future segments if the project has been divided into segments under section 3318.38 of the Revised Code. The actual amount of the credit shall not exceed the lesser of the amount specified in the agreement or the actual cost of the construction or renovation.

(D) No state moneys shall be released for a project to which this section applies until:

(1) Any local donated contribution authorized under division (A)(1) of this section is first deposited into the school district's project construction fund.

(2) The school district board and the commission have included a stipulation in their agreement entered into under section 3318.08 of the Revised Code under which the board will deposit into a fund approved by the commission according to a schedule that does not extend beyond the anticipated completion date of the project the total amount of any local donated contribution authorized under division (A)(2) or (3) of this section and dedicated by the board for that purpose.

However, if any local donated contribution as described in division (C)(4) of this section has been approved under this section, the state moneys may be released even if the entity providing that local donated contribution has not spent the moneys so dedicated as long as the agreement required under that section has been executed.

Amended by 132nd General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 49, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2017.

Amended by 131st General Assembly File No. TBD, SB 310, §101.01, eff. 8/16/2016.

Effective Date: 03-14-2003 .