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SCIi00L FACILITIES FIt(A~(IN.G Our State Constitution provides that: "The people have a right to the privilege of education, and it Ss the duty of the State to guard and maintain that right". (Article I, Section 15). "l~ne General Assembly shall provide by taxation and otherwise for a general and uniform system of free public schools ---. The General Assembly may assign to units of local government such responsibility for the financial support of the free public schools as it may deem appropriate". {Article IX, Section The General Assembly traditionally has roughly divided the responsibility for the financial support of the publicschools with the counties, retaining the funding of annual operating expenses while delegating to the counties the funding of school facilities. At the same time, counties recently have been supplementing State spending for school operations by 25%; likewise the State, in X949, 1953, 1963 and 1973, issued State school bonds to supplement the counties' spending for school facilities. In 1983, in lieu of another State school bond issue, the General Assembly authorized a local option 1/2~ sales tax and earmarked 40% of a county's proceeds for school facilities. Again, this jear, an additional 1/2~ local option sales tax has been authorized with 60% of the county share earmarked for school facilities. In both authorizations, the portions earmarked are for a limited time, and/or on a descending percentage basis. At the local level, planning for school facility needs is sometimes given priority and so~netimes is done on an ad hoc basis. The General Assembly is currently studying these problens through the Legislative Research Commission's School Finance Study Co~nittee which has reported unmet school facility needs in excess of two bi)lion dollars. Tee Governor's proposal for dealing with the financing of school facilities incorporates the concept of a pool ed loan fund. l~e fund would be created frm the proceeds of a State general obligation bond authorization. The bonds would have to be authorized by the General Assembly and approved by the voters at'a state-wide referendum. Assuming the availability of the receipts earmarked from th~ local option sales tax for school facilities, a bond authorization of ~1.3 billion doll ars could be supported. No further vote would be required at the local level so long as there is no pledge of the taxing power by the County. a'proL°'nsp va1 from the State fund to a County would be'made upon application and . of a memorandum of uoderstanding. Such loans would be repaid fro~ any legally available resources of the County whtch would not constitute a debt of the County requiring a vote. Such resources would of course include the p~oceeds of local option sales taxes enacted by a County.