To the Administrator Addressed:
The Instructional Facilities Allotment (IFA) program was enacted by House Bill 1 of the 75th Legislature, and provides assistance to school districts in making debt service payments on qualifying bonds or lease-purchase agreements. Bond or lease-purchase proceeds must be used for the construction or renovation of an instructional facility. As previously informed, all funds for the current state fiscal biennium have been committed by the June 1999 and June 2000 funding cycles.
The 77th Legislature is considering funding options for both the IFA program and the Existing Debt Allotment (EDA) program. As of today, a legislative decision on funding for new IFA applications has not been made and likely will not be known until the end of the legislative session.
The IFA program rules require the Texas Education Agency to have application cycles every June 15th if funds are available. This date was set to give time for determination of awards prior to the time school districts adopt budgets and set tax rates. This letter is to advise you that the agency is currently planning to proceed with the June 15, 2001 application cycle even though we do not know the final status of funding for next biennium. This funding cycle will make new awards for funding debts in the 2001-02 school year.
If your district is considering a bond issue or lease-purchase agreement, meets all IFA rules and would like to apply for funding in a potential IFA application cycle, the district must apply prior to June 15, 2001 in order to be considered for possible funding in the 2001-02 school year.
For those districts that previously applied and were not funded, there are two scenarios that must be considered. If the district applied in the previous biennium, was not funded and:
- DID enter into their debt without state assistance on or prior to December 12, 2000 the district does not have to re-apply. Amendment forms #4A, #4C, and #4D must be submitted with final debt service information. You may obtain application forms and instructions at our web site located at www.tea.state.tx.us/school.finance/facilities.
- DID NOT enter into their debt on or prior to December 12, 2000, the district does have to re-apply. A new application with all necessary forms must be submitted prior to June 15, 2001 and can also be obtained from our web site.
As a reminder, a district that was approved for part of its debt in a previous cycle may apply to have the uncovered portion (the debt in excess of $250 per ADA) of its debt in the IFA program. The application will be ranked with all other applications. For districts wishing to apply for this type of debt, please submit a Schedule #1 with original signature, Schedule #4C, and a cover letter stating that the debt is from a previously approved application.
If you have any questions about this notice or the IFA program, please contact Enrique Alemán at (512) 463-9207.
Sincerely,
Omar Garcia, Senior Director
Division of State Funding
For further information on this topic, contact Enrique Alemán at (512) 463-9207.