Yesterday, Senator Elaine Alquist amended her bill SB 1290 to change how charter schools are renewed in California. This may affect funding for California charter schools, should they not meet the new qualifications to renew. The bill proposed by Senator Alquist states that charters must meet their Academic Performance Index (API) growth target overall, as well as for each of their subgroups, in order to qualify for renewal of their charter school status. (To view the bill, go to www.leginfo.ca.gov, click on the ‘Bill Information’ link, and type in ‘SB 1290’ in the search bar.) The bill is being sponsored by the California Department of Education, while other opinions are mixed. The California Charter Schools Association is neutral on the measure, but a number of individual lobbyists and education reform advocates are opposed to it and fighting against it. The bill will be heard in the Assembly Education Committee next Wednesday at 1:30 PM. To voice your opposition to Senator Alquist’s attempts to re-regulate and change funding for California charter schools, please contact her office via telephone at (916) 651-4013 or fax at (96) 324-0283.
Month: June 2012
Tuesday, June 5th was Election Day, and the results may have an impact on funding for charter schools in California . This election was the first time California saw its new top-two primary voting system go into effect. Under the new system, the two candidates who receive the most votes, regardless of political affiliation, advance from the primary to the general election (as opposed to the top-two vote getters from differing political parties). Voters enacted the new system with the hope that more moderate candidates would be elected to the California State Legislature, and our state politics would become less polarizing. This new system also allows moderate groups an opportunity to be more successful when attempting to elect legislative candidates. Redistricting that was done a decade ago had led to various unions and business groups in zones that supported the Democratic and Republican candidates respectively, meaning there were few, if any, moderates who were being elected from either party to the state legislature.
With this in mind, the education reform community in California fared relatively well on election-day in the two legislative races in which they supported specific candidates. In the 57th Assembly District, Democrat Ian Calderon defeated Democrat Rudy Bermudez, enacting a general matchup with a Republican in November that Calderon is projected to win. He has been outspoken about the need to reform our current education system in California, and was heavily funded by a host of education groups throughout the state. In the 46th Assembly District, Democrat Brian Johnson, a Teach For America alumnus and former charter school executive director, is currently on pace to join another Democratic candidate in the November general election. Johnson holds a slim 82 vote lead over the Republican candidate in the race, who finished a close third in the balloting. This is sure to trigger a recount, but if Johnson can hold on, it will mean yet another victory for education reform groups. Like Calderon, Johnson was heavily backed. If both Calderon and Johnson are victorious come November, it could mean a much-needed increase in funding for California charter schools. To find out more about charter school financing options, visit our website.
Thanks for visiting our new Charter School Capital website and blog. We’re glad you’re interested in what Charter School Capital has to offer. Take a few minutes to explore the site and find lots of great information as well as some amazing photos and videos from charter schools that we help make successful. You can find out more about What We Do to provide charter schools with working capital, facilities expansion, and resource development. Want to learn about our team? Check out Who We Are. Hear what some charter schools have to say in our What Clients Say section – we couldn’t have said things any better. We also help you in Getting Started, whether you are opening a new charter school, looking to expand or want to move toward financial stability by learning about charter school funding. We are also working hard to create an informative resource library for you!
This blog will also serve as a great resource for you – charter school operators, administrators and supporters. We’ll offer up information that practical and useful and allow you to share with us your commentary and thoughts on issues that impact you and your charter school. Bookmark our blog, sign up to receive notices about new posts, or just check back often. Please provide us with feedback and ask us questions —we want to hear from you.
Since the company’s inception in 2007, Charter School Capital has been committed to the success of charter schools. We provide growth capital and facilities financing to charter schools nationwide. Our depth of experience working with charter school leaders and our knowledge of how to address charter school financial and operational needs have allowed us to provide over $1.6 billion in support of 600 charter schools that educate 800,000 students across the country. For more information on how we can support your charter school, contact us. We’d love to work with you!