8/18/2005
Media Contact:
Steve Campbell, [317] 327-3622 |
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City receives $2 million grant to advance Mayor-sponsored charter schools
INDIANAPOLIS- The city’s charter schools initiative has received a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help support the Indianapolis Charter Schools Facility Fund, which was established by the Indianapolis Bond Bank earlier this year to provide financing assistance to mayor-sponsored charter schools, none of which receive public sector money for facilities.
U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings announced today that Indianapolis and four other grantees nationwide will receive the money under the federal "Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Program."
"Charter schools provide an additional high-quality public school option for Indianapolis parents, but they are the only public schools that receive no money for facilities," Mayor Bart Peterson said. "This significant grant will help charter schools overcome the challenge of financing a facility."
Charter schools are public schools that are freed from most of the regulations governing traditional schools. They control their own curriculum, staffing, organization and budget. In exchange for this freedom, they must meet the highest academic standards.
Since they are responsible for their own facilities and transportation, a high percentage of new charter schools nationwide point out that inadequate facilities have impeded the implementation of their charters. Unlike traditional school districts, charter schools generally lack the ability to issue bonds, and they are often considered to be credit risks by lending institutions.
Under this program, funds are provided on a competitive basis to public and nonprofit entities to leverage other funds and help charter schools obtain school facilities through such means as purchase, lease and donation. Grantees may also use grants to leverage funds to help charter schools construct and renovate school facilities.
To help leverage funds for charter school facilities, grant recipients may, among other things, guarantee and insure debt to finance school facilities, guarantee and insure leases for personal and real property, facilitate a school’s facilities financing by identifying potential lending sources, encourage private lending; and establish charter school facility "incubator" housing that new schools may use until they can acquire a facility on their own.
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