LawWiki
HomeCodesSearchGlossaryAPIAbout
LawWiki

Plain English summaries of California law with zero-hallucination AI. Every summary is verified against official source text.

Product

  • Search
  • Codes
  • About

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer

© 2026 LawWiki. All rights reserved.

HomeEducation CodeCh. 6Art. 1§ 16022 Unspent School Project Funds

§ 16022 Unspent School Project Funds

Education Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 16022 Unspent School Project Funds

If a school district still has money left over from a project after one year, it can’t just spend it any way it wants; the district must follow a special process to get approval, possibly shrink the project, and return any extra money to the state.

Key Takeaways

  • •Unused project money after one year is locked until the board follows this process.
  • •The board must notify the State Department of Education and get a review of the original project.
  • •If the project now needs less money, the district must return the excess to the state; it cannot spend it on something else.
  • •The board cannot increase the amount of money originally given to the district.

Example

A district received $2 million to build a new science lab. After a year, only $1.2 million has been spent and $800,000 is still unused. The district wants to use the remaining money for new computers.

The district’s board must tell the board it wants to use the leftover money, ask the State Department of Education to review the lab project, and if the department says the lab needs less money now, the board must cut the project’s scope, calculate the new cost, and send any extra $800,000 back to the state instead of buying computers.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 16022 Unspent School Project Funds

Funds apportioned to a school district under Section 16024 for a project, remaining unencumbered or unexpended one year from the date the application of the district for apportionment was approved, shall not be encumbered or expended except as provided in this section. The governing board of the district shall notify the board of its desire to encumber or expend funds. The board shall immediately request the State Department of Education to, and the department shall, review the project for which apportionment was made. If the State Department of Education finds that the conditions existing at the time it approved the project for which the apportionment was made have so changed that the needs of the district are less than originally determined, it shall notify the board of its findings and of the respects in which the project should accordingly be modified. The board shall review the project and revise the project in any manner that it deems necessary subject to Section 16067, and make any changes in the purposes for which the apportionment may be expended that it deems necessary. The cost of the project as revised by the board shall be computed in the manner prescribed by Section 16024 and the excess, if any, of the amount theretofore apportioned to the district over the computed cost of the revised project shall be deducted by the board from the apportionment made to the district. The board shall give notice of its action, in writing, to the Controller, the governing board of the district, and the county auditor and the county treasurer having jurisdiction over the state school building fund of the district. If the amount of the excess, or any portion thereof, has not been paid to the district, the excess, or portion thereof, shall be made available for apportionment to other districts, if the excess, or portion thereof, has been paid to the district, it shall not be encumbered or expended by the district and shall become due and payable to the State of California. The governing board of the district and the county treasurer shall pay the amount to the Treasurer, out of the funds, and in the manner specified in Section 16100. The payment shall, on order of the Controller, be deposited in the State School Building Aid Fund in the State Treasury. It shall be the duty of the governing body and county treasurer to make the payments to the Treasurer as provided in this section, and it shall be the duty of the Controller to enforce the collection on behalf of the state. This section does not authorize the board to increase any apportionment made to a school district. (Repealed and added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 277, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1997. Operative January 1, 1998.)

Last verified: January 10, 2026

Key Terms

Funds apportionedunencumbered or unexpendedState Department of Educationexcess funds

Related Statutes

  • § 15712 Unspent School Project Funds
  • § 16010 School District Planning Assistance
  • § 16023 Equipment Apportionment Applications
  • § 16034 Furniture Equipment Cost Standards
  • § 16042 School Building Funding Authority

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Education Code. Section 16022.
View Official Source