by Nicole Piscitani, deputy director of legislative services • July 12, 2024
The Ohio General Assembly sent 29 bills to the Gov. Mike DeWine for his consideration and action, including the capital appropriations bill. House Bill (HB) 2 provides $600 million in school construction and renovation funding administered through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC). DeWine signed the bill on June 28.
The capital appropriations budget is passed every two years in even-numbered years. Traditionally, capital budgets are constructed with little opposition and move expeditiously in the Ohio House and Ohio Senate. One important note: To ensure that construction projects continue, funding needs to be approved by June 30 due to the fiscal year beginning July 1. A capital project must be connected to a state agency, state-supported institution of higher education or K-12 public school to receive funding through the appropriations bill.
OFCC was established in 2012, when the legislature merged the Ohio School Facilities Commission and the Office of the State Architect and created one agency responsible for overseeing capital projects throughout Ohio. The commission manages the various K-12 public school facility programs, including planning, developing and constructing new and renovated facilities. The Rebuilding Ohio Schools Program contains many programs to help school districts with their facility needs. These programs include the following:
- Alternative Facilities Assistance Program (AFAP);
- Classroom Facilities Assistance Program (CFAP);
- Expedited Local Partnership Program (ELPP);
- Exceptional Needs Program (ENP);
- Vocational Facilities Assistance Program (VFAP);
- Vocational Facilities Assistance Expedited Local Partnership Program (VFAP-ELPP);
- Corrective Action Program;
- Emergency Assistance Program;
- Hardship Loan Program;
- STEM Public Schools.
HB 2 also includes approximately $700 million for one-time strategic community projects. These funds were approved in HB 33, the biennial budget, but nothing indicated which projects would receive funds at the time of passage. The Ohio General Assembly intended to appropriate the funds later and that occurred in HB 2. The House and Senate each had $350 million and could determine which projects received funding.
It is important to note that one-time strategic community project funds were not subject to the same rules of capital appropriation projects, which are required to connect to a state agency, state-supported institution of higher education or a K-12 public school. Several school districts and joint vocational school districts received one-time strategic community funding. Click here for a list of projects by county.