Board of Education signs off on $40M in charter school loans
The Indiana State Board of Education on Wednesday endorsed a plan to divvy out as much as $40 million in loans in the 2015-16 school year through a controversial new state program to fund charter schools.
At least 12 charter schools have requested $25 million in loans through a program enacted in the state budget that began in July. In all, the state legislature approved $50 million in loans, but the state board voted to save $10 million of that money for the next school year.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the state board moved quickly to approve the distribution formula with limited discussion.
However, John O’Neal, of the Indiana State Teachers Association, said the program is a significant amount of money and leads him to question whether it’s the best use of tax dollars.
“Should we be giving that much money to schools that have D and F grades? Or brand new charters that don’t have grades at all?” O’Neal asked.
The number of charter schools applying for a loan could grow. The deadline to do so is at the end of the month.
The state board set a mechanism to approve loans that will rely on a school’s Board of Education signs off on $40M in charter school loans:
