February 2016 - Grow Schools

Search?! Social?! Mobile?! Web?! Email marketing?! All these words along with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat are enough to make any charter school leader’s head spin. We’ve teamed up with our marketing friends at barber&hewitt to bring the next installment of our webinar series to help leader learn more about digital marketing for charter schools…Digital Marketing 101: What Charter Leaders Need to Know.
Join our own VP of Marketing, Kim Brater, along with digital marketing expert and founder of barber&hewitt, Michael Barber, on Tuesday, March 8th at 9:00 a.m. PST / 12:00 p.m. EST for an informative webinar about digital marketing for charter schools and how charter leaders can leverage digital marketing to drive enrollment and connect with students, parents and the community.

Speakers:

Kim Brater, VP of Marketing, Charter School Capital
Kim Brater is VP of Marketing at Charter School Capital leading marketing, communications and digital efforts. Previously she founded and managed Ant Hill Marketing in Portland, Oregon for 15+ years focusing on brand strategy, marketing, public relations, and digital for healthcare, technology, manufacturing, and education clients. Kim holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst and an M.A. in Communications from the University of Oregon. As an adjunct professor at Portland State University, she taught upper level PR and Communications courses in the School of Business Management. Kim currently lives with her family in Portland, Oregon.

Michael Barber, Founder, barber&hewitt
Michael Barber is the founder of barber&hewitt, a consultancy dedicated to helping brands blend creative and data to tell better stories. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and Mashable. When he isn’t tinkering at barber&hewitt, you’ll find him teaching at various universities and honing his obsessions with donuts, planes, the Arizona Wildcats, and his two Westies, McDoogle and Bowie.

What you will learn:

Why digital marketing matters for charter schools
Digital marketing tactics for charter schools to consider
Digital marketing resources for charter schools

Several initiatives have been filed with the Secretary of State that could affect charter schools. A few weeks ago we gave you a school bond update; there is a school bond that will be on the ballot in November and also there were legislative efforts to place a school bond on the June ballot. The legislative and administrative effort to place a school bond on the June ballot collapsed without either party able to reach agreement on the size of the bond and what would be included in the bond. That leaves only the November school bond measure which totals $9 Billion and includes $500 Million for charter schools. That measure has continued to gain support from the business community, local school districts and elected officials. However, in a major blow the Governor has come out opposed to that bond measure. With the California Teachers Association the Governor has an interest in extending the taxes that were passed in Proposition 30 which is on the November ballot and having other propositions on the ballot will only complicate those efforts. It remains to be seen how this will play out during the year but it will be a lively discussion.
Another measure affecting charter schools has received a summary and title and is out for circulation. If passed it would eliminate all charter schools throughout the state on July 1, 2017 and revert all charter school property and resources purchased with public funds to the local school district. Additionally, all charter schools would either be shut down or revert to traditional public schools. The measure has received a title and summary from the Attorney General and now the proponents have 180 to gather the 365,880 signatures needed to place it on the ballot. We will keep you updated on the signature gathering process as it moves forward. The title of the initiative is the Elimination of Charter Schools Initiative.
To see either initiative in its entirety go to the Attorney General’s website at oag.ca.gov hit the initiative tab on the right hand side and search for either school bonds or charter schools. Then look for the title of the initiative.

Charter schools face multiple challenges from Year 0 inception in establishing the school and a different set of challenges once in operation through their growth. What are the charter school growth strategies that will help your school succeed? What are your plans for charter school replication? How do the challenges faced by charter leaders change as they expand?

Join us for a webinar focused on charter school growth strategies. We’ll feature the challenges schools face during various phases from start-up, expansion through to a mature school as well as highlight best practices schools use to achieve success.

REGISTER TODAY!

Speakers:

Marshall Emerson, Co-founder & CEO, I CAN SCHOOLS
Marshall the Co-founder and CEO of I CAN Schools, overseeing seven charters and more than 2,000 students. I CAN began in 2010 and the schools have been one of the country’s most successful charter school concepts in closing the achievement gap for low-income students.

Stuart Ellis, President & CEO, Charter School Capital
Stuart is the Co-founder and CEO of Charter School Capital, the nation’s leading provider of growth capital and facilities financing to charter schools nationwide. The company has provided in excess of $1 billion in support of 500+ charter schools educating more than 500,000 students across the country.

What you will learn:

Best practices for growth and replication
Funding options specific to your growth stage
Lessons learned from charter school leaders

One of the big policy fights that has been simmering around the Capitol over the last year is whether to place a school bond on the Primary or General election ballot this year. Education advocates and builders have been consistently saying that the state needs new dollars for school construction and modernization while the administration has been opposed on several fronts.
First, the administration does not want the state to incur new debt, as the Governor has worked hard to reduce the state’s past obligations and get the state back on a sound fiscal track. Second, the administration believes that there should be a new building program because the old state school facility program is not effective. As this tug of war has played out a coalition of builders, education advocates and architects have moved forward and qualified a ballot measure for the general election in November. Fearing that this ballot measure could endanger the prospects of extending the taxes (which will also be on the November ballot) the administration and the California Teachers Association are currently working with legislative staff to craft their own competitive measure that would be placed on the June primary ballot. To get it onto the June ballot the legislature must pass it with a 2/3 vote by February 16th (if they do not find a way to extend the deadline). We will keep you updated as the process moves forward. Below are some points from both proposals:
Bond on the November ballot:

$9 Billion total
$3 Billion for K-12 New Construction
$3 Billion for K-12 Modernization
$2 Billion for Community Colleges
$500 Million for Charter Schools
$500 Million for Career Tech
Funds under the current state facility program requiring a 50% local match

Current administrative/legislative proposal being drafted:

Dollar figure has not been set yet (rumored amount $4-5 billion)
Funds the True Unfunded List ($375 million)
Changes the state building program only for this bond
Local match is a sliding scale (33/50/66 percent) based upon a formula of per pupil AV
A CSFA loan program will be funded if a district is out of local funds
Authorizes County Offices of Education to issue bonds
Precludes New Construction dollars for portables or determining district capacity
Requires a 5 year Master Plan that will feed a formula for eligibility
Threshold for requiring DSA review increased from $40,000 to $100,000
Raises bond indebtedness cap
Accountability would be through an annual audit
Eligibility based upon 5-year projection allowing a supplemental projection with valid final
subdivision maps
Would establish Charter School apportionment process that parallels that established for
school districts
Includes Community Colleges

On Tuesday, February 2^nd, Larry Reider, President of Charter School Property Solutions, joined Charter School Capital Co-Founder, President, and CEO Stuart Ellis to discuss facilities financing for charter schools as part of Charter School Capital’s ongoing webinar series.
As the Charter School Movement celebrates its 25th anniversary, there are now nearly 7,000 charter schools in 43 states, serving nearly 3 million students. However, there are more than 1 million students still on waiting lists and many charters are unable to get financing for adequate facilities to support the demand. In addition, as the Charter Movement continues to grow and thrive, many charter schools seek the long-term stability that comes with controlling their own facilities.
In this webinar, Larry and Stuart discussed the relative value of facility ownership versus long-term leasing. More significantly, Larry and Stuart discuss in detail the advantages and disadvantages of a variety of financing options available to independent charters, Education Management Organizations (EMOs) and Charter Management Organizations (CMOs).
For many charter schools, facility ownership has become synonymous with self-determination. However, long-term facility leasing may offer many of the same benefits as facility ownership, often with less capital investment and much less risk.
In an attempt to clarify the risks and rewards of facility ownership versus long-term leasing, Larry and Stuart provide an in-depth analysis and comparison of financing a facility purchase, a new build and long-term leasing options for either a new or renovated facility. Whether pursuing a cash purchase, or a bank- or bond-financed purchase of a new or pre-existing facility, there are many complex factors to consider, including:

How much can I afford?
What are annual costs?
What are options for growth in the facility? Will I outgrow the space too quickly?

While every charter school’s needs are unique, the analysis presented in this webinar can be used to clarify your organization’s facilities requirements and the variety of financing options available to your charter school.
If you want learn more about facility financing for charter schools, download the webinar presentation one SlideShare or email us at GrowCharters@charterschoolcapital.com
To learn more about how Charter School Capital can help your school, EMO or CMO, contact our team directly at growcharters@charterschoolcapital.com or visit cscnewbeta.wpengine.com today.
And keep a lookout for future Charter School Capital webinars, hosted regularly and addressing topics such as Facilities Options for Charter Schools, Growth Strategies for Charter Schools, Digital Marketing Strategies for Charter Schools, and more!

Assemblywoman Marie Waldron has introduced AB 1652 on behalf of her constituents in San Diego. AB 1652 attempts to give charter schools with a strong track record a longer renewal period; specifically stating that the first two charter renewals shall be for a period of 5 years and subsequent renewals shall be for a period requested by the charter school not to exceed 15 years. This is a policy change that charter school advocates have requested for a long time. It will provide charter schools greater flexibility and stability over a longer period of time. Including being able to grow and seek facility options knowing that their futures will be secure.
AB 1652 will first be heard in the Assembly Education Committee in a few weeks where it will face opposition from traditional public school advocates. Assemblywoman Waldron has reached out to the charter school community and asked that we assist her in her efforts. So when the hearing nears we will post a draft letter of support that you can use to send into the committee members to demonstrate the difference that this piece of legislation will make to the field.
To see AB 1652, go to the California Legislative Information website.
Photo of Assemblywoman Marie Waldron via her assembly website.