Module 1 – Eligibility Period

Overview

A vote of the MSBA Board of Directors to invite a District into the Eligibility Period is based on a review of the District’s Core Program Statement of Interest (“SOI”) and staff due diligence and recommendation. An invitation to the Eligibility Period is not an invitation to the Feasibility Study, and it does not guarantee an invitation to the MSBA’s capital pipeline.

District Eligibility Period commencement dates (when the 270-day period begins) are phased across several months following the Board’s annual Invitation into Eligibility Period vote to ensure District readiness and MSBA staff availability. The District’s commencement month initiates a 270-day period for the District to complete certain preliminary requirements that include:

1. a certification of the District’s understanding and acknowledgement of the MSBA’s regulations and agreeing to work in collaboration with the MSBA and in compliance with its enabling legislation when in the grant program by executing an Initial Compliance Certification;
2. forming a School Building Committee and submitting its membership to the MSBA for acceptance;
3. for applicable schools that contain Chapter 74 vocational technical education programming only, completing a Chapter 74 Vocational Technical Education Viability form, which informs the MSBA of the programs the District plans to continue offering, expand, close or add to the SOI school;
4. completing an Educational Profile Questionnaire to further inform the MSBA’s understanding of the District’s current and proposed educational facilities, teaching methodology, grade configurations and program offerings;
5. completing a summary of the District’s existing maintenance practices;
6. certification of a design or study enrollment for the proposed project agreed upon with the MSBA;
7. confirmation of local authorization and funding to complete the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design (see MSBA Vote Requirements); and,
8. execution of the MSBA’s standard Feasibility Study Agreement, which establishes a process for the District to be reimbursed for eligible expenses for the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design.

Districts that successfully complete the preliminary requirements to the satisfaction of the MSBA within or less than the 270-day Eligibility Period are eligible to receive an invitation from the MSBA Board of Directors to the Feasibility Study phase, beginning with Module 2.

In cases where additional time beyond the 270-days is necessary for the District and MSBA to reach confirmation of an agreed-upon enrollment, or for the District to secure its feasibility study/schematic design funding authorization, an extension of no more than an additional 30 days can be requested, provided the District has completed all other required Eligibility Period deliverables.

Districts that do not successfully complete the preliminary requirements within the 270-day period will have to re-file a SOI during the next SOI filing period.

The MSBA’s grant program is a non-entitlement, competitive program. The grants are distributed by the MSBA Board of Directors based on need and urgency, as expressed by the District and validated by the MSBA. The Core Program is intended for new construction, addition, and/or renovation projects.