School Facilities Board
Requires the School Facilities Board (SFB) and the Arizona Department of Administration (ADOA) to annually publish a list of vacant and partially used buildings, owned by the state or by school districts, that may be
suitable for school operations.

• The list must include buildings where the use is 50 percent or less of the building’s
  potential capacity, according to SFB standards.

Requires the SFB to make the list publicly available on its website, and upon request to charter school applicants,
SFB applicants who are requesting additional space, existing school districts and charter schools.

Requires the list to include: the address of each building, a short description of each building, the building owner’s name, any other pertinent information related to the vacancy and capacity of each building.

Requires the SFB to annually submit the list to the Governor, the President of the Senate and
the Speaker of the House of Representatives and provide a copy to the Secretary of State and
the State Board for Charter Schools.

Prohibits a school district from restricting a charter school or private school from negotiating
to buy or lease a property in the same manner as other potential buyers or lessees.

Requires school districts to report any school or school buildings that are vacant or at less than
40% capacity and requires the SFB to establish reporting guidelines.

Requires the SFB to inspect school buildings to ensure the accuracy of the vacant space as
reported by the school districts.

School districts
Requires a school district to attempt to obtain the highest possible value, under current market
conditions, for the sale or lease of a vacant and unused building or a portion of a building and
prohibits a school district from accepting an offer that is less than an offer from a charter or
private school.

Clarifies that an owner of a building on the list is not required to sell or lease the building, or a
portion of the building, to a charter school, any other school or to any prospective buyer or
tenant.

Prohibits the owner from withdrawing the property only because a charter or private school is
the highest bidder.

Restricts a building owner from increasing a lease payment by more than 2% annually
or more than 10% in any 20-year period for an existing tenant that is a public school or
provides services to public school students.

Prohibits a rent increase for a tenant that is a public school or provides services to public school
students from exceeding a minimum growth rate of the lesser of either 2% or
the change in that year's rate of inflation.

Allows a school district to sell used equipment to a charter or private school, prior to selling
or disposing of the equipment by other means.

Allows a school board to enter into leases or lease-purchase agreements for school buildings or grounds for periods of less than 20 years, instead of 15 years, that are subject to voter approval for school
building construction.

Elections
Allows an election to be held to determine whether a school board should lease school buildings or grounds for a lease lasting 20 or more years, instead of 10 or more years.

Requires a special election to reauthorize the governing board to negotiate a lease, if the lease
is not entered into within 20 years, rather than 10 years, of the election date.

Allows the school district to end the lease at any time for a leased school that:
a) receives a letter grade of D for more than one year; or
b) receives a letter grade of F for any length of time.

Requires a statement listing the number of vacant buildings and the number of buildings that
are at less than 40% capacity in a school district to be mailed in the informational packet
for each household in the school district prior to a bond election.

Excludes the sale or lease of a school building or a portion of a building from purchasing,
selling and leasing requirements, if the building is vacant for at least three years or is at less
than 40% capacity.

Allows revenues from the sale or lease of certain buildings owned by the school district to be
used for other capital and academic needs identified by the governing board and prioritized for
schools with at least 60 percent of the students enrolled in the National Free and Reduced-Price
Lunch Program.