FISCAL NOTE

Date Requested: February 18, 2022
Time Requested: 03:19 PM
Agency: Education, WV Department of
CBD Number: Version: Bill Number: Resolution Number:
1613 Comm. Sub. SB246
CBD Subject: Education (K12)


FUND(S):

N/A

Sources of Revenue:

Other Fund County Funded

Legislation creates:

Creates New Expense



Fiscal Note Summary


Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.


There is no estimated cost to the State for the proposed legislation. Under the proposed legislation, County Boards of Education (Boards) will be required to install new water bottle filling stations during certain new construction projects. Furthermore, Boards will be required to retrofit half of all existing water fountains within a school during certain major improvements. The additional cost to the Boards for including water bottle filling stations during new construction is deemed to be minimal because the cost of a new water bottle filling station is comparable to the cost of a new water fountain. The additional cost to the Boards for retrofitting half of the water fountains in schools that are undertaking major improvements is estimated at approximately $200,000, annually. Those additional costs would be paid for by the funding source the Boards have acquired for the overall improvement project (i.e., School Building Authority (SBA) grants, bond proceeds, unrestricted local funds, etc.).



Fiscal Note Detail


Effect of Proposal Fiscal Year
2022
Increase/Decrease
(use"-")
2023
Increase/Decrease
(use"-")
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation)
1. Estmated Total Cost 0 200,000 200,000
Personal Services 0 0 0
Current Expenses 0 0 0
Repairs and Alterations 0 0 0
Assets 0 0 0
Other 0 200,000 200,000
2. Estimated Total Revenues 0 0 0


Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):


There is no additional cost to the State for this proposed legislation since there are no additional funding sources being included in the bill. Furthermore, any additional costs incurred by County Boards of Education (Boards) as a result of the proposed legislation would be deemed capital in nature. Therefore, there would be no impact to Step 6a of the Public School Support Plan (the allowance for other current expense under WVC ยง18-9A-9(1)). Any costs related to the proposed legislation would be borne by the Boards and would be paid for by the funding sources the Boards have acquired for each construction projects (i.e., School Building Authority (SBA) grants, bond proceeds, unrestricted local funds, etc.). Additional costs to the Boards for including water bottle filling stations during new construction are deemed to be minimal because the cost of a new water bottle filling station is comparable to the cost of a new water fountain. The additional cost to the Boards for retrofitting half of the water fountains in schools that are undertaking major improvements is estimated at approximately $200,000, annually. This is a statewide estimate which would impact individual Boards differently depending on the number of major improvement projects being completed in a given year. This estimate was determined using the following assumptions/averages: - Number of existing water fountains required by plumbing code: 1 per 100 students - Average design capacity of each school: Approximately 700 students - Estimated existing water fountains per school: 7 - Estimated number of water fountains requiring retrofitting per school: 4 - Cost estimate for retrofitting one water fountain with a bottle filler, including labor: $2,500 - Average number of construction projects meeting definition of major improvement, annually: 20 The cost of adding a water filling station to an existing water fountain is approximately $2,500 (including labor). This assumes the existing water fountain has the ability to add the water bottle filling attachment. There are some that will not have that ability, but it is assumed for this estimate that the existing system will be modified with an attachment. With approximately 680 schools in the State, the estimated cost to retrofit half of all existing water fountains with water bottle filling stations is $6,800,000. However, not all schools will require retrofitting since only schools with major improvement projects, as defined in the proposed legislation, are required to comply. Please also note that some Boards may have already retrofitted some of their existing water fountains in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The estimate contained herein does not account for that as insufficient data currently exists for providing such and estimate.



Memorandum


N/A



    Person submitting Fiscal Note: Samuel E. Pauley
    Email Address: sepauley@k12.wv.us