Official Site of The State of New Jersey
ROD Grant Allocation 5
Overview of Grant Program for School Facilities Projects for Regular Operating Districts
On June 30, 2022, Governor Murphy signed P.L.2022, c.18 which includes a direct appropriation of $350 million to the New Jersey Schools Development Authority (NJSDA) to provide funding for grant projects in Regular Operating Districts (ROD).
Under the ROD grant program, school districts are eligible to receive at least 40 percent of approved eligible project costs and some districts may be eligible for a higher share. The funding percentage for a grant is based upon each district’s District Aid Percentage (DAP) multiplied by the eligible project costs established by New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE). Districts must be able to demonstrate local matching funds for the balance of the project costs.
For a school facilities project to be considered for grant funding, the proposed scope of work must be 100 percent eligible for State support. Only projects that are 100 percent eligible for State support and included in the prioritization as outlined below are eligible for a ROD grant. Funds may be used to address health and safety, essential upgrades or repairs, and other related projects.
Eligibility Requirements
For a school facilities project to be considered for grant funding, the proposed scope of work must be 100 percent eligible for State support and be included in one the priorities listed below. Once a school facilities project has been determined by the NJDOE to have 100 percent eligible scope, it will be categorized in one of the listed project areas for determination of sub-ranking priority. If the proposed scope of work is applicable to more than one project area, the project will be placed in the lower sub-ranking priority. Due to the limited funding and scope of this grant program, projects that would require a local referendum to raise the local share will not be considered. For those districts seeking larger projects that would require a local referendum, Debt Service Aid is available to provide state support for those projects through NJDOE.
ROD Grant Project Application Timelines
ROD 5 School District Open Application Period: January 31, 2023 – May 1, 2023
A complete project application must be received by the Office of School Facilities Projects via email submission at RODGrant5@doe.nj.gov by 5PM on May 1, 2023, to be considered for grant funding in Allocation 5. It is recommended that districts submit prior to the application deadline. Please refer to the project application submission instructions listed below.
Grant funding was previously approved for school facilities projects on an ongoing “first come” basis without prioritizing need. The new grant funding process is designed so that those grants are allocated to the most critical and educationally responsive projects.
Grant applications will only be accepted and approved during the announced grant program timelines rather than on an on-going basis.
In the past, grant funding was approved by the Department on an on-going basis as projects were received. Per the Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act, P.L. 2000, c. 72 (N.J.S.A. 18A: 7G-1 et seq.), as amended by P.L. 2007, the commissioner will establish a process for the annual allocation of grant funding. This process requires districts to submit project applications with grant requests by specific deadlines so that requests can be collectively considered and prioritized. This change may require districts to plan earlier for work than past practices. It is critical that a complete district project application be submitted to the Department by the noted deadline. Incomplete submissions may not be reviewed and considered for grant funding in the requested allocation.
The amount of money approved for the fifth grant allocation will not exceed $350 million.
This fifth allocation will make available up to $350,000,000 for ROD School Districts. Since funding is limited in this allocation, projects to be funded will be prioritized starting at level 1 per the regulations. Funding for projects in level 2 and level 3 will not be available in this allocation. Since funding is limited in this allocation, projects to be funded will be prioritized based on previous funding received per the regulations. Funding for all projects in level 1 may not be available in this allocation.
Projects requesting grants will be ranked according to a prioritization process.
Per the Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act, P.L. 2000, c. 72, as amended by P.L. 2007,
“… the commissioner shall establish a priority process for the financing of school facilities projects based upon the commissioner’s determination of critical need… The priority project categories shall include, but not be limited to, health and safety, overcrowding in the elementary, middle, and high school grade levels, spaces necessary to provide in-district programs and services for current disabled students who are being served in out-of-district placements or in-district programs and services for the projected disabled student population, and full-day kindergarten facilities in the case of school districts required to provide full-day preschool.”
For a school facilities project to be considered for grant funding, the proposed scope of work must be 100% eligible for State support and be included in one of the priority “levels” described below. If the project scope is not 100% eligible for State support and/or the scope of work is not included in one of the three prioritization levels, the project will not be considered for grant funding. However, a district may request debt service aid if the proposed scope of work, or a portion of the proposed scope of work, is eligible for State support. Please note that the State share will be an amount equal to the district aid percentage, but not be less than 40% of the final eligible costs. The 115% multiplier used for the previous grant program will no longer be applied.
Once a school facilities project has been determined by the Department to have 100% eligible scope, it will be placed in one of twenty-three sub-ranking “levels” based on the proposed scope of work. If the proposed scope of work is applicable to more than one sub-ranking level, the project will be placed in the lower priority level.
LEVEL 1
The following sub-ranking “levels” for school facilities projects address the most critical operational building needs, including health and safety issues, and program mandates.
- Essential building systems upgrades (Repair or replacement of structural, mechanical/heating and cooling, electrical, and plumbing systems; Includes required refinishing work.)
- Building skin (Repair or replacement of roof, windows, masonry, etc.)
- Building code issues
- ADA upgrades (Includes site and building access, toilet room renovations.)
- Hazardous material abatement (Radon, lead, asbestos, etc.; Includes required refinishing work.)
- Security and communications systems (Includes essential systems.)
- Technology infrastructure upgrades.
- Site drainage (To remediate an existing problem; Not in conjunction with new construction.)
- Elementary school playgrounds (Includes the upgrade or replacement of existing playgrounds to meet life cycle, safety, and/or consumer product safety codes; Not applicable for new playgrounds.)
- Renovated or new early childhood classrooms (Includes the renovation and/or new construction.)
- Special population needs (For program expansion or educational adequacy.)
- Existing site upgrades, excluding athletic fields and tracks (Includes upgrades to sidewalks, paving, fencing, and security lighting.)
- Renovation and/or new construction of capacity-generating classrooms to address overcrowding or substandard conditions.
LEVEL 2 funding will not be considered in Allocation 5.
LEVEL 3 funding will not be considered in Allocation 5.
If your district has already submitted a project to the Department for review and would like to participate in the grant process, please contact the Office of School Facilities at RODGrant5@doe.nj.gov for further information.
If a school facilities project has been previously approved by the Department and the district would like it to be considered for grant funding, one of the following options, based on the type of project approval, can be selected:
- If a construction contract has been awarded from a previously approved project application, the school district cannot cancel the project to apply for a ROD Grant.
- If the project was approved as an “Other Capital” project, the district must cancel the project application and resubmit a new project application to the Department in accordance with the grant deadlines noted above.
- If the project was approved for debt service aid funding, two options are available. If the district has accepted the preliminary eligible costs (PEC) as the final eligible costs (FEC), the district must cancel the project and resubmit a new project application to the Department. If the district has not accepted the PEC as the FEC, the district can request the school facilities project to be considered for grant funding. All cancellation requests and resubmissions must include a resolution from the local school board requesting the cancellation and resubmission of the specified project and meet the grant application deadlines noted above.
A school district is not required to participate in the grant application process. There are two options if your district does not elect to request a grant for a school facilities project. The first option is to request an “Other Capital” project approval if the project is either ineligible for state funding support or if the district chooses not to request state funding support, either in the form of a grant or as debt service aid. “Other Capital” projects will be reviewed and approved by the Department on an on-going basis according to current practice. The second option is to request debt service aid for the eligible costs of the school facilities project. These projects will be reviewed and approved by the Department according to current practice and can go to the voters for approval on any of the five referenda days allowed by law.
If your district has already submitted a project to the Department for review and would like to participate in the grant process, please contact the Office of School Facilities at RODGrant5@doe.nj.gov for further information.
If a school facilities project has been previously approved by the Department and the district would like it to be considered for grant funding, one of the following options, based on the type of project approval, can be selected:
- If a construction contract has been awarded from a previously approved project application, the school district cannot cancel the project to apply for a ROD Grant.
- If the project was approved as an “Other Capital” project, the district must cancel the project application and resubmit a new project application to the Department in accordance with the grant deadlines noted above.
- If the project was approved for debt service aid funding, two options are available. If the district has accepted the preliminary eligible costs (PEC) as the final eligible costs (FEC), the district must cancel the project and resubmit a new project application to the Department. If the district has not accepted the PEC as the FEC, the district can request the school facilities project to be considered for grant funding. All cancellation requests and resubmissions must include a resolution from the local school board requesting the cancellation and resubmission of the specified project and meet the grant application deadlines noted above.
A school district is not required to participate in the grant application process. There are two options if your district does not elect to request a grant for a school facilities project. The first option is to request an “Other Capital” project approval if the project is either ineligible for state funding support or if the district chooses not to request state funding support, either in the form of a grant or as debt service aid. “Other Capital” projects will be reviewed and approved by the Department on an on-going basis according to current practice. The second option is to request debt service aid for the eligible costs of the school facilities project. These projects will be reviewed and approved by the Department according to current practice and can go to the voters for approval on any of the five referenda days allowed by law.
If a project is not selected for grant funding, the district has four options, depending upon the type of project submitted.
- If the project met the criteria for inclusion in one of the three grant prioritization levels, the district can hold and resubmit the school facilities project for the next grant funding allocation. (The number of projects approved for grant funding in prioritization levels two and three will be impacted by state-wide grant funding requests since the maximum grant allocation per year is fixed. Therefore, competition for grant funding may vary for each allocation.)
- If the project scope was not applicable to one of the three prioritization levels, or contained work that prevented its placement in a higher priority level, the district can revise and resubmit the school facilities project for the next grant funding allocation.
- If the school facilities project has eligible costs for State support, the district can request debt service aid instead of a grant in accordance with current practices.
- If the district does not want to seek debt service aid, it can convert the project to an “Other Capital” project and fully fund the project without State funding support.