The Department of Education shall determine the present necessity for any school construction program as authorized by any school construction bond authorization act in the several school districts of the State and, in so doing, shall take into consideration the actual and projected number of pupils in the requesting school district as determined by the most current September 30 Unit Count and a standardized annual population projection prepared by or approved by the Office of State Planning Coordination, the feasibility and possibility of the consolidation of school districts, the present and future possibility of overcrowding of school facilities within the school district, the condition and quality of existing school facilities within the district and all other matters and conditions pertinent to the determination of the present necessity of the school construction program, including the reasonable future development or dissolution of the school district. In making such determination of necessity, the Department of Education shall have the authority to make a determination of necessity of a school construction program for a school district which will have a lesser total cost than the maximum total cost for such school district set forth in any school construction bond authorization act. Whenever a determination of necessity of a school construction program is made in an amount less than the total maximum cost for such school district as set forth in any school construction bond authorization act, the state share and the local share shall be reduced in the proportions they bear to the total maximum cost set forth in that act. No determination of necessity for school construction shall be made until the school district shall have identified at least 1 proposed site for such construction, which site shall have been approved as required by § 7525(a) of this title.