MO HB783

Allows school boards to lease or rent buildings for school purposes even while district schoolhouses are unoccupied, provided the leases are entered into under section 177.088 provisions.

Permits educational institutions to enter into agreements with not-for-profit corporations to acquire, construct, improve, and finance school facilities, sites, and equipment through lease or lease-purchase arrangements.

Requires lease agreements to include terms where the educational institution can renew annually for up to 25 successive one-year options and receive clear title to all property and improvements at the end of the lease period or when all bonds and obligations are paid.

Provides that bonds or obligations issued by the not-for-profit corporation are not debts of the educational institution and are exempt from state taxation, though sites and buildings owned by the corporation remain tax-exempt during the project.

Allows school districts to enter into agreements with counties, cities, towns, or villages for acquisition and financing of educational facilities through lease-purchase, options to purchase, or joint venture arrangements with potential shared ownership.