Grants, loans for charter schools
State board OKs $50 million plan
INDIANAPOLIS – The State Board of Education on Wednesday gave the go-ahead to start taking applications for a new, $50 million Charter School Grant and Loan Program.
But the board still needs to make decisions on how to prioritize the applications if the requests exceed the amount of money available.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz was concerned about the lack of a prioritization plan. She said schools should know that information before they apply.
She abstained from the vote, which was 9-0.
Lawmakers, pushed by Gov. Mike Pence, created the program at the end of the last session to provide funding for capital, technology and transportation investments.
Unlike traditional public schools, public charter schools do not receive local property tax revenue for those purposes. Traditional public schools receive, on average, about $3,000 per student per year in local property tax revenue for capital, transportation and debt payment, a news release said.
The program is two-pronged. First, charter schools will receive a grant of $500 per student for capital, transportation and technology improvements.
Charter schools automatically qualify for the grant if they receive A-C school accountability grades; are in their first or second year of operation; primarily serve special-needs students; or don’t qualify to receive a grade.
D or F schools automatically qualify if their school accountability grade is equal to or better than their closest comparable traditional public school in each of the previous two years.
The board will award grants in two payments to eligible charter schools. The first $250-per-student grant will be made immediately based on projected enrollment for the upcoming school year. The second payment will be made after the fall enrollment count and will be adjusted to reflect actual enrollment.
It is projected that a total of $10.75 million will be awarded to public charter schools this fall.
The second part of the program involves low-interest loans for public charter schools. Schools may borrow up to $5 million. If a school plans to buy or build a facility with Grants, loans for charter schools | Indiana | Journal Gazette: