Act 73 creates State Aid for School Construction program and funds transition support at AOE

St. James summarized Act 73’s school-construction provisions and related funding for Agency of Education support.

Sections 12–20 establish the State Aid for School Construction program, create an advisory board and a special fund, set approval and funding criteria, and include an appeals process. Many of those sections are contingently effective on 07/01/2026; the advisory board was noted as in effect on 07/01/2025 and has submitted a report addressing legacy debt and mergers.

Section 19 transfers certain rulemaking authority from the State Board to AOE for the school-construction program. Section 32 appropriates $2,865,000 from the general fund to the Agency of Education for FY2026 to support school boards transitioning to new governance models and to fund contracted services related to consolidation and administrative activities. Section 33 authorizes five limited-service classified positions within AOE in FY2026 to assist with education-transformation work.

Committee members asked whether contamination issues (for example, PCBs or other contaminants in school buildings) were addressed; St. James said the briefing would not cover the detailed ins-and-outs of the construction program that day but offered to return with more detailed presentations or to connect members with agency staff.