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70-1-117.


§70-1-117.


    A.  The general fund of any school district is hereby defined as
a current expense fund and shall consist of all revenue or monies
that can legally be expended within a certain specified fiscal year,
but shall not be considered as including any money derived from a
special building fund levy made in accordance with the provisions of
Section 10 of Article X of the Oklahoma Constitution, nor shall it
include any monies derived from the sale of bonds issued under the
provisions of Section 26 of Article X of the Oklahoma Constitution.
All monies derived from the proceeds of the school levies made
pursuant to the provisions of Section 9 of Article X of the Oklahoma
Constitution shall be placed in the general fund provided by this
section.  Expenditures from the general fund shall be noncapital in
nature.  Except as provided for in subsections J and K of this
section, a district shall not be authorized to make capital
expenditures as defined by this section from the general fund.
    B.  For the purposes of this section, a capital expenditure shall
be an expenditure which results in the acquisition of fixed assets or
additions to fixed assets.  Capital expenditures shall include, but
shall not be limited to, purchases of land or existing buildings,
purchases of real property, improvements of grounds and sites for
construction purposes, all expenditures for construction of buildings
unless authorized by the State Board of Education or the State Board
of Vocational and Technical Education upon application to the
appropriate state board pursuant to subsection E of this section,
additions to buildings, remodeling of buildings if such remodeling
involves changes to roof structures or load-bearing walls,
professional services, salaries and expenses of architects and
engineers hired or assigned to capital projects except for such
services, salaries and expenses as are applicable in preparation for
a bond issue, expenditures for the initial installation and extension
of service systems and built-in heat or air equipment to existing
buildings, expenditures for the replacement of a building which has
been destroyed, installments and lease payments on property,
excluding interest, that have a terminal date and result in the
acquisition of property, and expenditures for preliminary studies
made prior to the time that authority to proceed with a construction
project is given if authority is received within the same fiscal year
that the expenditure was made.
    C.  Noncapital expenditures shall include, but shall not be
limited to expenditures for maintenance, repair and replacement of
property and equipment, initial or additional purchases of furniture
and equipment, direct expenses for maintenance of plant, including
grounds, salaries for maintenance of plant, including salaries for
the upkeep of grounds, and repair and replacement of building
structures which do not add to existing facilities and which do not
involve changes in roof structures or load-bearing walls and which
are not classified as a capital expenditure by this section.
    D.  The State Board of Education shall adopt and amend
regulations regarding the classification, definition and financial
administration of funds, accounts and expenditures in accordance with
the requirements of this section.
    E.  A school district shall be authorized to make capital
expenditures from the general fund to defray the cost of rebuilding a
school building only if a school building or facility has been
destroyed by a fire or natural disaster, such as flood, tornado or
other act of God, or by an act of a public enemy of the United States
or this state and monies received by the district through insurance
coverage, federal reimbursement, contributions and allocation from
the State Board of Education from the State Public Common School
Building Equalization Fund are insufficient to rebuild the facility.
Capital expenditures from the general fund pursuant to this
subsection shall be limited to an amount necessary to defray the cost
of rebuilding the facility which exceeds monies received by the
school district through insurance, federal reimbursement,
contributions and state allocations.
    F.  Schools which receive gifts or donations or state-
appropriated monies for the purpose of capital expenditures or
projects shall place such monies in the building fund, as provided by
Section 1-118 of this title, and not in the general fund.
    G.  School districts which receive monies from rental, sale, or
lease of buildings, impact aid monies, or grants, gifts or donations
for capital purposes, whether from state, federal, or other sources,
may place such monies in the building fund authorized by Section 1-
118 of this title or the general fund authorized by this section.
    H.  Any construction of a building included as a capital
expenditure from the general fund of a school district which is
authorized and has had a contractual agreement concerning such
construction executed prior to July 1, 1991, may be proceeded with
and completed as authorized prior to July 1, 1991, as a capital
expenditure from such general fund.
    I.  School districts receiving revenues authorized by Section 9B
of Article X of the Oklahoma Constitution shall be authorized to make
capital expenditures from the general revenue fund no greater than
the amount levied by the incentive millage.
    J.  Upon the approval of the State Board of Education, a school
district shall be authorized to make capital expenditures as defined
in this section from its general fund if:
    1.  A bond issue has been rejected at an election by the school
district electors voting on that question within the current school
year, as certified by the secretary of the county election board; or
    2.  The school district has voted indebtedness at any time within
the preceding three (3) school years through the issuance of bonds or
through approval by voters of issuance of new bonds for more than
eighty-five percent (85%) of the maximum allowable pursuant to the
provisions of Section 26 of Article X of the Oklahoma Constitution as
shown on the school district budget filed with the State Board of
Equalization for the current school year and certifications by the
Attorney General prior to April 1 of the current school year.  The
State Board of Education shall establish the rules and regulations to
administer the provisions of this subsection which shall include, but
not be limited to, specification of a maximum amount of general fund
monies to be used for capital expenditures, the purposes for which
such funds may be expended and the period of time in which such funds
shall be encumbered.
    K.  Other provisions of this section notwithstanding, a school
district shall be authorized to make capital expenditures from the
general fund if the total assessed property valuation per average
daily attendance is less than sixty percent (60%) of the state
average total assessed property valuation per average daily
attendance and if, for each year in which general fund revenue is
used for capital expenditures, the district has voted the five-mill
building fund levy authorized in Section 10 of Article X of the
Oklahoma Constitution and has voted indebtedness through the issuance
of new bonds for at least eighty-five percent (85%) within the last
three (3) years of the maximum allowable pursuant to the provisions
of Section 26 of Article X of the Oklahoma Constitution as shown on
the school district budget filed with the State Board of Equalization
for the current school year and certifications by the Attorney
General prior to April 1 of the school year.  Provided, the maximum
amount of general fund revenue used for capital expenditures pursuant
to this subsection shall not exceed five percent (5%) of the total
yearly revenue to the general fund.  Said fund may not be used for
capital expenditures for more than five (5) consecutive years and may
only be utilized for remodeling or construction of classroom
facilities and such ancillary facilities to said classrooms as may be
necessary.  Provided, further, the State Superintendent of Public
Instruction shall certify in writing, prior to the expenditure of the
funds for which provision is made in this subsection, that such
expenditures are in compliance with the provisions of this
subsection.



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