INFORMATIONAL LETTER:  74

 

POLICY CODE:  FE

 

 

TO:                  Superintendents of Schools

 

FROM:            Susan A. Gendron, Commissioner, Department of Education

                        Jean K. Gulliver, Chair, State Board of Education

 

DATE:             May 15, 2003

 

RE:                   Postponement of the Deadline Date for 2003-2004 Major Capital Improvement Process (MCIP) Applications

 

 

At its May 14, 2003 meeting the State Board of Education voted to approve a recommendation made by Commissioner Gendron and the State Board’s School Construction Committee to establish the submission due date for Major Capital Improvement Process (MCIP) Applications for the 2003-2004 Rating Cycle.  Applications will now be due June 1, 2004.  The major reasons for moving the submission date to the end of the 2003-2004 school year are:

 

• the Department and the State Board need time to analyze the impact of continuing declines in population and the ongoing implications for issues related to regionalization of education services and facilities;

 

• with the completion of two rating cycles, the Department and the State Board need an opportunity to review the current capital improvement process, analyze how well it is working and make any needed adjustments;

 

• the Commissioner is due to recommend new debt ceiling limits to the Legislature in January 2004; and

 

• current statewide fiscal constraints make it unclear at this time just what funds are available for a new construction cycle.

 

School systems currently working on applications for the anticipated August 1, 2003 deadline have not worked in vain.  Information prepared for the August 1, 2003 deadline will be appropriate for the June 1, 2004 deadline.  Also note that the June 1, 2004 date will not affect the “hold harmless” language recently adopted in the State Board Rules, Chapter 61 and is not applicable for schools that were rated in the previous rating cycle.

 

We anticipate that the on-site visits to applicant schools will start in September of 2004 and that the Priority List will be ready for release in the spring of 2005.

 

We thank you for understanding the need to change from an August 1, 2003 to a June 1, 2004 submittal date, and we look forward to working with you to improve Maine’s school facilities.