Meeting District Needs

Partnership Helps Indianapolis Charters Get Places of Their Own

February 12, 2008 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

An unusual public-private partnership in Indianapolis is helping charter schools get access to money for buildings at favorable rates.

Launched in 2005, the Indianapolis Charter Schools Facilities Fund has made up to $20 million in loans available to charter schools sponsored by the mayor’s office.

Eligible charters can borrow tax-exempt money for acquiring, constructing, or renovating facilities. The schools pay lower rates on those loans because of the backing of the city and other partners in the initiative, including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a Baltimore-based philanthropy.

“We wanted to do everything we could to reduce barriers to enter into the [charter] sector,” said David Harris, the former charter schools director for Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, a leading proponent of charter schools who left office in January after being defeated for re-election.

See Also

Return to the main story,

Help for Charters in Race for Space

“It’s hard for charter schools to borrow money oftentimes on their own, period, and when they do, they have to pay pretty high interest rates,” said Mr. Harris, who is now the chief executive officer of The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis nonprofit group that supports entrepreneurial ventures in education, including charter schools. “This gives them an access point, but also to do so at a very favorable interest rate.”

The Casey Foundation and the Educational Facilities Financing Center of Local Initiatives Support Corp., a New York City nonprofit, each put up $1 million in loan guarantees to help leverage funding for charters in Indianapolis.

A $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education is further underwriting the effort. The city of Indianapolis has put its “moral obligation” behind the loans as a guarantee, pledging to seek appropriations if the program’s debt-service reserve fund becomes depleted.

The partnership also involves JPMorgan Chase Bank. The loan program is administered by the Indianapolis Local Public Improvement Bond Bank.

Related Tags:

Coverage of new schooling arrangements and classroom improvement efforts is supported by a grant from the Annenberg Foundation.
A version of this article appeared in the February 13, 2008 edition of Education Week as Partnership Helps Indianapolis Charters Get Places of Their Own

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Recruitment & Retention Webinar
Exploring Staff Shortage Impact on Education
Learn about the impact of staff shortages, changing roles of educators, and how technology supports teachers & students.
Content provided by Promethean
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Improving Outcomes on State Assessments with Data-Driven Strategies
State testing is around the corner! Join us as we discuss how teachers can use formative data to drive improved outcomes on state assessments.
Content provided by Instructure
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Equity & Diversity Webinar
Classroom Strategies for Building Equity and Student Confidence
Shape equity, confidence, and success for your middle school students. Join the discussion and Q&A for proven strategies.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Meeting District Needs Briefly Stated Briefly Stated: Stories You May Have Missed
A collection of stories you may have missed.
8 min read
Meeting District Needs Coronavirus Squeezes Supply of Chromebooks, iPads, and Other Digital Learning Devices
School districts are competing against each other for purchases of digital devices as remote learning expands to schools across the country.
7 min read
The New York City school system has been handing out laptops and other digital devices for students to use at home. Recently, it moved quickly to purchase 300,000 new iPads for remote learning.
The New York City school system has been handing out laptops and other digital devices for students to use at home. Recently, it moved quickly to purchase 300,000 new iPads for remote learning.
AP Photo/John Minchillo
Meeting District Needs Opinion Open Educational Resources Fill Gap for Underserved Students
The NAACP advocates the use of OER as a way to equalize learning resources at scale for all students, write Lisa Petrides and Barbara Dezmon.
Lisa Petrides & Barbara Dezmon
6 min read
Open Educational Resources Fill Gap for Underserved Students In the wake of NAACP’s endorsement of OER, states have a responsibility to address resource inequality, write Lisa Petrides and Barbara Dezmon
Getty/Getty
Meeting District Needs 'Red Flags' to Look for When Evaluating Personalized Learning Products
Educators are asking tougher questions to sort the real personalized learning potential from the empty promises of some ed-tech products and services.
6 min read
Buzzwords in the Marketplace
Buzzwords in the Marketplace
Education Week