The U.S. Department of Education (ED) funds and administers education programs for a variety of purposes and recognizes and rewards excellence and improvement by students, schools, and communities. In 2015, the ED awarded $37.115 billion to improve elementary and secondary schools and to meet the needs of students. This guidebook provides basic information about accessing the range of federal programs and resources available to charter schools. Its purpose is to provide helpful guidance so that charter school operators and developers can identify and access funds available to qualifying public districts and schools.

The purpose of the 2011 Charter School Financing Study is to identify and understand the relationship between charter school performance and loan performance. This study evaluates the school performance across a wide range of factors, including financial metrics, school operation, and organizational culture. Also, this document tracks loan performance over the past decade using metrics like debt service coverage, delinquency, and history refinancing. Ultimately, this resource will improve charter school lender’s understanding of charter schools in order to make more informed decisions about risk and return.

This document is designed to address Albuquerque’s specific charter school facility and policy related issues, including share use information, facility amenities, ownership, financing, grade levels and waiting list. The goal of the CSFI is to encourage public policy and private sector changes leading to a comprehensive, sustainable, and adequate public school facilities system.

This document explores the status of charter school facilities in the state of Arkansas. It examines how sufficient open enrollment is in the state’s charter school facilities.It highlights that charter school students in Arkansas do not have access to the same facilities and facilities-related special program amenities compared to traditional public school students in the state. Finally, this document is based on facilities surveys and measurement data plus enrollment and operating revenue data collected for the 2012-2013 school year.  

This document explores the status of charter school facilities in the state of California. It evaluates how sufficient open enrollment is in the state’s charter school facilities.It highlights that charter school students in California do not have access to the same facilities and facilities-related special program amenities compared to traditional public school students in the state. Finally, this document is based on facilities surveys and measurement data plus enrollment and operating revenue data collected for the 2013-2014 school year.

This document explores the status of charter school facilities in the state of Colorado. It examines how sufficient open enrollment is in the state’s charter school facilities. It highlights that charter school students in Colorado do not have access to the same facilities and facilities-related special program amenities compared to traditional public school students in the state. Finally, it is based on facilities surveys and measurement data plus enrollment and operating revenue data collected for the 2016-2017 school year.

This document explores the status of charter school facilities in the state of Delaware. It evaluates how sufficient open enrollment is in the state’s charter school facilities. It highlights that charter school students in Delaware do not have access to the same facilities and facilities-related special program amenities compared to traditional public school students in the state. Finally, this article is based on facilities surveys and measurement data plus enrollment and operating revenue data collected for the 2015-2016 school year.

This document explores the status of charter school facilities in the state of Idaho. It evaluates how sufficient open enrollment is in the state’s charter school facilities. It highlights that charter school students in Idaho do not have access to the same facilities and facilities-related special program amenities compared to traditional public school students in the state. Finally, this report is based on facilities surveys and measurement data plus enrollment and operating revenue data collected for the 2010-2011 school year.

This document explores the status of charter school facilities in the state of Louisiana. It examines how sufficient open enrollment is in the state’s charter school facilities. It is a resource that highlights that charter school students in Louisiana do not have access to the same facilities and facilities-related special program amenities compared to traditional public school students in the state. Finally, it is based on facilities surveys and measurement data plus enrollment and operating revenue data collected for the 2017-2018 school year

This document explores the status of charter school facilities in the state of Massachusetts. It evaluates how sufficient open enrollment is in the state’s charter school facilities. It highlights that charter school students in Massachusetts do not have access to the same facilities and facilities-related special program amenities compared to traditional public school students in the state. Finally, this report is based on facilities surveys and measurement data plus enrollment and operating revenue data collected for the 2011-2012 school year.

This document explores the status of charter school facilities in the state of Michigan. It evaluates how sufficient open enrollment is in the state’s charter school facilities. It highlights that charter school students in Michigan do not have access to the same facilities and facilities-related special program amenities compared to traditional public school students in the state. Finally, this report is based on facilities surveys and measurement data plus enrollment and operating revenue data collected for the 2011-2012 school year.

This document explores the status of charter school facilities in the state of New Hampshire. It evaluates how sufficient open enrollment is in the state’s charter school facilities. It highlights that charter school students in New Hampshire do not have access to the same facilities and facilities-related special program amenities compared to traditional public school students in the state. Finally, this report is based on facilities surveys and measurement data plus enrollment and operating revenue data collected for the 2016-2017 school year.

This document explores the status of charter school facilities in the state of New Jersey. It evaluates how sufficient open enrollment is in the state’s charter school facilities. It highlights that charter school students in New Jersey do not have access to the same facilities and facilities-related special program amenities compared to traditional public school students in the state. Finally, this report is based on facilities surveys and measurement data plus enrollment and operating revenue data collected for the 2011-2012 school year.

This document explores the status of charter school facilities in the state of Ohio. It evaluates how sufficient open enrollment is in the state’s charter school facilities. It highlights that charter school students in Ohio do not have access to the same facilities and facilities-related special program amenities compared to traditional public school students in the state. Finally, this report is based on facilities surveys and measurement data plus enrollment and operating revenue data collected for the 2014-2015 school year.

This document explores the status of charter school facilities in the state of Oklahoma. It evaluates how sufficient open enrollment is in the state’s charter school facilities. It highlights that charter school students in Oklahoma do not have access to the same facilities and facilities-related special program amenities compared to traditional public school students in the state. Finally, this report is based on facilities surveys and measurement data plus enrollment and operating revenue data collected for the 2017-2018 school year.

This document explores the status of charter school facilities in the state of Rhode Island. It evaluates how sufficient open enrollment is in the state’s charter school facilities. It highlights that charter school students Rhode Island do not have access to the same facilities and facilities-related special program amenities compared to traditional public school students in the state. Finally, this report is based on facilities survey and measurement data plus enrollment and operating revenue data collected for the 2012-2013 school year.

This document explores the status of charter school facilities in the state of South Carolina. It evaluates how sufficient open enrollment is in the state’s charter school facilities. It highlights that charter school students South Carolina do not have access to the same facilities and facilities-related special program amenities compared to traditional public school students in the state. Finally, it is a report based on facilities survey and measurement data plus enrollment and operating revenue data collected for the 2012-2013 school year.

Securing a property tax exemption is one way that charter schools can maximize the amount of dollars going into the classroom. This document provides an overview of the application process for property tax exemption. At a high-level nonprofits must meet exemption qualifications, submit their application, and the application must be reviewed by county and state authorities. Following approval nonprofits must sign their tax exemption letter.

Ask the questions that will help your charter school understand how their long-term and short-term facility needs align with program goals. 

Charter schools have always had difficulty finding affordable buildings. This document explores the experiences of grantees of the U.S. Department of Education Charter Schools Program (CSP) Credit Enhancement (CE) for the Charter School Facilities Program. Also, this document looks at the non-financial roles played by CSP Credit Enhancement grantees (CSP CE grantees), such as school advisors, authors, and representatives. Finally, this resource provides solutions on how to leverage or build CSP CE grantees’ and charter schools capacity to secure facilities, grow the number of successful charter schools, and ultimately achieve better result for students. 

Blended learning is transforming classrooms across the country. This report provides an overview of the best classroom structures for supporting blended learning. Case studies of schools that are successfully implementing blended learning strategies are also included.

Decades of rigorous research and advocacy demonstrate the benefits of quality Pre-K education for children, their families, and society. However, Pre-K and other forms of early care and education (ECE) are often provided by small businesses whose economics provide insufficient cash flow to support the debt financing needed for facility development. This document provides solutions to the lack of loans, grants, technical assistance, and policy advocacy in Pre-K education for the improvement of facilities, maintenance, safety and preserving these high quality facilities.

This dashboard provides information on each Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Program (CE) grantee that has received a Charter Schools Program (CSP) grant from the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The CSP provides funds to support new public charter schools; to expand and replicate high quality charter networks; and to disseminate information about effective practices within charter schools. The CSP also funds initiatives that reduce the cost of charter school facilities and other national initiatives that support charter schools.

This document addresses two intriguing sources of financing–one new and one benefiting from renewed attention: Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZ) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Development programs. Many charter schools are unaware of the financing available through these programs, so this paper explorers the potential for charter schools to access these sources. Increased awareness of these programs may help charter schools obtain financing for a facility, resulting in continued growth of the charter sector and additional high quality seats for students across the country.

Opening a new charter school means managing a number of competing priorities. This checklist provides a recommended timeline for key elements that should be in place before your school opens. In addition to the checklist, guidance is provided about your charter school's organizational needs, student recruitment, student management, financial management, banking, employment, human resources, transportation, food services, systems creation, relationship management, curriculum, facilities, and furniture, fixtures, & equipment needs.

Are you trying to decide whether your current charter school facility requires you to move, stay, lease, or buy another property? Explore your options with the guiding questions in this document and make the right facility decision. 

When managing limited resources it is important to have a plan. Use this step by step guide to creating a budget and help your charter school estimate the total cost of their real estate project.

The average charter school spends nine percent of its per-pupil operating revenue on facilities. This average varies widely depending on a number of factors, including what entity owns the facility, i.e. the school, a private organization, or a traditional public school district. This document explores the relationship between spending on facilities and charter schools’ performance outcomes. Also, this report compares the average spending of higher and lower performing charter schools to begin to assess whether spending on facilities may be impacting outcomes for students. Finally, this report investigates whether other factors, beyond the type of organization that owns the facility, may be related to variations in facilities spending.    

Charter Schools by and large are responsible for finding their own facilities solutions and paying for facilities out of the schools’ per pupil operating revenue. Some charter schools rent old grocery stores and renovate them to function as school buildings, while others build brand new, cutting-edge facilities. This document takes advantage of a growing database of facilities data from the CSFI and looks for trends between the presence and absence of specific features in school facilities, such as those found to impact outcomes in prior research as well as features that charter facilities vary markedly on, and the performance of the corresponding schools.

Debt is crippling. Understand what amount of debt you can afford for your charter school facility projects. The guiding questions in this article also help you determine the right affordability and budget for your real estate projects.

Learn how to effectively navigate the real estate puchasing process. This document details the steps that your charter school should follow when searching for a facility that meets their space needs. You are walked through identifying and visiting available properties, choosing the best property, establishing a budget, securing financing commitment, and closing on a property.

This document is a 2011 Master Class outline from the National Association of Public Charter Schools that provides critical information about the basic of fundraising, resources and tools to further purse the issues, and clear guidance about effective methods.

Strong teams deliver strong results. This presentation shares tips for forming a strong facilities team including: creating a timeline, identifying your needs, searching for the ideal location, and evaluating your results.

First impressions matter. Learn about the key financial information that your charter school should know before approaching a lender about facility financing. Understand the best practice deal terms that should be in place before committing to a loan.

This is an online website that provides information about scores of grant programs involving 44 federal grant making agencies, with annual awards totaling billions of dollars. This online website also provides tools to search for grant opportunities, as well as applying for tracking grants.

Learn how to calculate and understand liquidity ratios, financial leverage ratios, and asset turnover ratios.

Not clear on the differences between working capital, operating reserve, and opportunity capital? This document provides an overview and definitions of the types of capital involved in facility financing deals.

The work isn't done once you've secured a loan for your charter school faclity project. You also need to have a plan for making your loan payments on time. Enter your loan amount, annual interest rate, loan period in years, number of payments per year, start date of the loan, and optional extra payments in order to figure out your loan repayment details.

So many factors impact your loan readiness. Understand whether your charter school's financials will allow you to effectively meet any loan obligations. An overview of asset turnover ratios, financial leverage ratios, and liquidity ratios is also provided.

An overview of the variety of real estate funding available. Charter schools will understand how debt, fundraising, government resources and foundation grants impact financing for a facility project.

Assess the financial health of your charter school with this template. Use the worksheets to analyze your monthly revenues, expenses, grants, services and enrollment. 

Operating a facility incurs a lot of costs. Many charter schools struggle to keep track of their finances in order to ensure financial stability. This occupancy budget template will help organizations track specific costs like mortgages, taxes, insurance, rents,  gas, electric bills, water, maintenance, payroll and administration.

This report by the National Alliance of Charter School Authorizers represents the entities that approve and oversee charter schools- usually local school boards, state boards, or universities. The report draws on five years of charter school proposals submitted to most of those authorizers in 19 states and Washington, D.C., looking at what kinds of schools were proposed and which ones got approved. The latest data from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools shows that nationally, 18 percent of charter students attend for-profit schools.

Use this budget template to understand and organize the expenses related to your charter school facility project.

Project your income, expenses, debt service, and debt coverage ratio using this sample operating pro forma.

A critical part of building a strong team is understanding what role each member of your team needs to play. A capital campaign consultant will be responsible for fundraising the money you need for your charter school's real estate project. This step by step guide will help you designate a selection committee, decide on a selection process, issue a request for a proposal, analyze a candidate's strategy, assess a timeline, and understand a campaign consultant's fee structure.

Your general contractor is critical to getting your project done on time and within budget, so picking the right one is important. Learn how to asess your contractor's reputation and experience with nonprofits. This document provides an overview of the responsibilities. specific hiring criteria, and key questions for general contractors. 

Choosing the right project manager is difficult. This document is your guide to generating a list of the right candidates, reviewing proposals, conducting interviews, checking references, and negotiating a contract.

Charter schools can use this interactive tool to estimate the social value, in dollars, of their real estate projects.

Charter schools are meant to be centers of innovation. This report discusses how charter schools can adopt the successful educational programs and structures of other charter schools. 

Starting with a thorough plan is the key to a successful real estate project. Charter schools can use this document to think though the process of project sizing, looking for a location, working with architects, finding grants, and determining a project budget.

The Charter School Facility Center at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has recently released a new report that looks at how states are enacting policies to help offset the cost of leasing, purchasing, and maintaining public charter school facilities.

STEM schools can use this report to identify the facility strategies that will help their students thrive. This report covers the requirements for a best practice STEM facility space.