Cooperative funding of career center facilities.

(1) Each district school board operating a designated career center may submit, prior to August 1 of each year, a request to the commissioner for funds from the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund to plan, construct, and equip a career center facility identified as being critical to the economic development and the workforce needs of the school district. Prior to submitting a request, each school district shall:

(a) Adopt and submit to the commissioner a resolution indicating its commitment to fund the planning, construction, and equipping of the proposed facility at 40 percent of the requested project amount. The resolution shall also designate the locale of the proposed facility. If funds from a private or noneducational public entity are to be committed to the project, then a joint resolution shall be required.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (5)(b), levy the maximum millage against the nonexempt assessed property value as provided in s. 1011.71(2).

(c) Certify to the Office of Workforce and Economic Development that the project has been survey recommended.

(d) Certify to the Office of Workforce and Economic Development that final phase III construction documents comply with applicable building codes and life safety codes.

(e) Sign an agreement that the district school board shall advertise for bids within 90 days of receiving an encumbrance authorization from the department.

(f) If a construction contract has not been signed 90 days after the advertising of bids, certify to the Office of Workforce and Economic Development and the department the cause for delay. Upon request, an additional 90 days may be granted by the commissioner.

(2) The Office of Workforce and Economic Development shall establish the need for additional career education programs and the continuation of existing programs before facility construction or renovation related to career education can be included in the educational plant survey. Information used by the Office of Workforce and Economic Development to establish facility needs shall include, but not be limited to, labor market needs analysis and information submitted by the school districts.

(3) The total cost of the proposed facility shall be determined by the district school board using established state board averages for determining new construction cost.

(4)(a) A career education construction committee shall be composed of the following: three representatives from the Department of Education and one representative from the Executive Office of the Governor.

(b) The committee shall review and evaluate the requests submitted from the school districts and rank the requests in priority order in accordance with statewide critical needs. This statewide priority list shall be submitted to the commissioner.

(c) The commissioner’s legislative capital outlay budget request may include up to 2 percent of the new construction allocation to public schools for career capital outlay projects recommended by the career education construction committee.

(5)(a) Upon approval of a project, the commissioner shall include up to 60 percent of the total cost of the project in the legislative capital outlay budget request as provided in s. 1013.60 for educational plants. The participating district school board shall provide 40 percent of the total cost of the project. When practical, the district school board shall solicit and encourage a private or noneducational public entity to commit to finance a portion of the funds to complete the planning, construction, and equipping of the facility. If a site does not exist, the purchase price or, if donated, the assessed value of a site may be included in meeting the funding requirements of the district school board, a private or noneducational public entity, or the educational agency. The value of existing sites, intended to satisfy any portion of the funding requirement of a private or noneducational public entity, shall be determined by an independent appraiser under contract with the board. The size of the site to adequately provide for the implementation of the proposed educational programs shall be determined by the board. Funds from the Public Education Capital Outlay and Debt Service Trust Fund may not be expended on any project unless specifically authorized by the Legislature.

(b) In the event that a school district is not levying the maximum millage against the nonexempt assessed property value pursuant to paragraph (1)(b), state and school district funding pursuant to paragraph (a) shall be reduced by the same proportion as the millage actually being levied bears to the maximum allowable millage.