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NIFA Funds for New Construction

July 1, 2015

The Texas Legislature restored funding for new school construction through the New Instructional Facility Allotment Program after a four-year break.
Reimbursement funds of $250 per student in average daily attendance are available for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years, but the application deadline is July 15!
Click here for more information on NIFA and read below for additional details.

Overview
The NIFA program provides reimbursement funds for expenses related to start-up costs of new campuses. Initial (first year) applications must be submitted during the summer before the expected opening of the new building. Because no funding was appropriated for the 2014-2015 school year, no districts are in the Follow-up (second-year) application group. Initial applications are entitled to an allotment of $250 per ADA.
The NIFA is available to all charter schools that construct new buildings. Districts must take action under the TEC, Chapter 431, to reduce wealth per student to the equalized wealth level and school districts that do not otherwise qualify for state aid are eligible to receive NIFA.

Eligibility Requirements
The new facility must:

  • be a newly constructed instructional site used for teaching curriculum required by TEA;
  • have its own campus ID number designated by TEA;
  • have its own principal or be eligible to receive an accountability rating;
  • house its own instructional staff and instructional program district from other facilities;
  • maintain its own record of expenditures that are NOT a subset of another school budget and its own attendance data;
  • be physically separate from other school structures; however, a covered walkway may connect it to existing facilities;
  • and be occupied for the first time in the 2015-2016 school year;

Applications must be entered, saved and sent through the online system by July 15. Neither late applications nor paper applications will be accepted. Pictures, site plans, floor plans, demolition plans (if applicable) and legal documentation must be uploaded into the Foundation School Program (FSP) System by July 15.

 

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