§ 38–401. Control of school buildings; disposition of proceeds.

(a) The control of the public schools in the District of Columbia by the Board of Education shall extend to include the negotiation and approval of use, license, and lease agreements, with or without monetary consideration, with respect to the use of public school buildings and parts thereof and the grounds appurtenant thereto, and land intended for such use, by or for any of the following:

(1) Any agency or agencies of the District of Columbia government, the United States government, or any international organization;

(2) Any person or organization providing an educational or recreational program involving students of the public schools, other children, youth, or adults;

(3) Any person or organization providing a supplementary educational program;

(4) Any person or organization conducting civic meetings for the free discussion of public questions;

(5) Any person or organization operating a social center, including, but not limited to, the following:

(A) A preschool center, child development center, or day care center;

(B) A health clinic or a counseling service;

(D) A community-based consumer cooperative; or

(E) A studio or workshop for instruction, display, performance or promotion of the arts, or for other art-related purposes;

(6) A playground or center for recreational activity; or

(7) Any other use which the Board of Education may deem to be compatible with the normal use of the particular property and in the best interest of the local community, other than industrial uses, and which does not require major structural renovations at cost to the District of Columbia government to implement a particular agreement.

(b) In the execution of subsection (a) of this section, preference shall be given to agencies of the District of Columbia government.

(c) All fees and proceeds derived from licenses or use agreements entered into pursuant to this section and §§ 38-401.01 and 38-401.02 shall be paid to the Treasury of the District of Columbia, under regulations issued by the Mayor, and accounted for in the General Fund as a separate revenue source allocable to provide authority for the Board of Education to expend for the custody, cleaning, heating, air-conditioning, lighting, maintenance, security, and improvement of public school buildings and grounds, and the management of these licenses and use agreements. Any unobligated balance remaining 90 days subsequent to the end of the fiscal year in which the revenues were received shall be transferred by the Board of Education to the debt service fund to be applied toward the repayment of capital outlay loans and interest outstanding on public school buildings and grounds acquired and held for school purposes, pursuant to § 1-105 over and above the amount appropriated by the Congress of the United States to the District of Columbia for such purposes.

(c-1) All proceeds received by the Board of Education for leasing school buildings shall be deposited into the unrestricted fund balance of the General Fund of the District of Columbia.

(d) The authority of the Board of Education pursuant to this section shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, the authority granted to the Board of Education by § 38-153 and by §§ 10-212, 10-223, and 10-224, insofar as these provisions relate to the use of buildings and grounds under the control of the Board of Education.

(e) The Board of Education shall, in accordance with subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2, issue rules for the consideration and review of applications for the use of public school buildings and grounds by lease or otherwise, pursuant to this section. Final approval of each lease, license, or use agreement entered into by the Board of Education pursuant to this section and §§ 38-401.01 and 38-401.02 shall be reserved to the Board of Education which may delegate to the Superintendent any of its authority.

(Mar. 4, 1915, 38 Stat. 1190, ch. 165, § 1; Sept. 29, 1982, D.C. Law 4-158,§§ 2, 5, 29 DCR 3632; Sept. 11, 1990, D.C. Law 8-158, § 5, 37 DCR 4167; Sept. 14, 2011, D.C. Law 19-21, § 9062, 58 DCR 6226.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 31-201.

1973 Ed., § 31-801.

Section References

This section is referenced in § 38-401.01.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 19-21, in subsec. (c-1), substituted “unrestricted fund balance of the General Fund of the District of Columbia” for “Board of Education Real Property Improvement and Maintenance Fund established by the Board of Education Real Property Disposal Act of 1990”.

Emergency Legislation

For temporary amendment of section, see § 4 of the Oyster Elementary School Modernization and Development Project Emergency Act of 1996 (D.C. Act 11-385, August 28, 1996, 43 DCR 4799), and § 4 of the Oyster Elementary School Modernization and Development Project Congressional Adjournment Emergency Act of 1996 (D.C. Act 11-437, December 4, 1996, 44 DCR 104).

Temporary Legislation

Section 4 of D.C Law 11-215 amended subsection (c-1) to read as follows: “(c-1) All proceeds received by the Board of Education for leasing school properties, including payments in lieu of taxes, shall be deposited into the Board of Education Real Property Improvement and Maintenance Fund established by § 9-402(b)(1)§ 10-802, 2001 Ed., and shall be available for expenditure, for the purposes set forth in that chapter until actually expended.” Section 7(b) of D.C Law 11-215 provided that the act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect.