Bureau of School Facilities
This bureau provides leadership, technical assistance, and resources to school officials, facility managers, school board members, building committees, architects, and members of the public regarding school facilities. There are four programs under the Bureau of School Facilities: School Building Aid Program, School Safety Grants Program, School Facility Inspection Program, and Charter School Lease Aid Program. These programs aim to assist schools in operating and maintaining a healthy and safe building.
School Building Aid Program
This state-funded program provides grants to school districts which support the construction or substantial renovation of public schools. Building aid awards are based upon the ranking of the school district’s building aid application and availability of state and local funding. Building aid awards may cover between 30-60% of eligible project costs.
School Safety Grants Program
This program provides funding to New Hampshire schools to improve school safety. Currently, the program administers the Security Action for Education (SAFE) grants which supports school security and safety improvements for K-12 public and nonpublic schools throughout New Hampshire. SAFE grants were established in 2022 and include $13 million of Public School Infrastructure funds and $10 million of Covid-19 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. These grants focus on supporting school improvements in categories of access control, surveillance, and emergency alerting. The program continues to seek new funding for school security projects.
School Facility Inspection and Approval Program
This program works to ensure schools operate in healthy and safe facilities. The program inspects and approves new facilities prior to student occupancy, conducts routine onsite facility inspections of existing public schools, and assists other agency programs with facility related support. This program also provides leadership, technical assistance, and resources regarding operating and maintaining healthy and safe school facilities.
Charter School Lease Aid Program
This state-funded program provides aid to approved public chartered schools to offset the costs of leasing their facilities. The amount of lease aid is dependent upon the amount appropriated by the legislature each year. Lease aid shall be 30% of the eligible amount, or $50,000, whichever is less. If the lease aid appropriation does not fully cover the requested amount, aid is prorated among the eligible chartered public schools that applied.
Other
- Unused District Facility Survey - RSA 194:61 requires school districts to report unused district facilities to the NH Department of Education each year. An unused facility is defined as school building owned by a school district which is not used for academic purposes, extracurricular activities, administrative school function, or sports and for which the school district has no school board approved written plan for future use.
- NHDES Get the Lead Out of Drinking Water program - Available funding for public and nonpublic schools for sample analysis and remediation activities through the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. Please reach out to the contact provided on their webpage for more information.
Contact:
Amy C. Clark, PE, Civil Engineer, Bureau Administrator
Division of Education Analytics & Resources
Bureau of School Facilities
603-892-8530
amy.c.clark@doe.nh.gov