Arcadia proposes donated office complex, $4M startup fundraising and contingency steps to TEA

Arcadia Schools’ founders told Texas Education Agency interviewers on May 7 that a local entity identified in their application has donated two buildings for the proposed Arcadia High School and that the applicants expect a rent‑free facility with a long‑term agreement and modest cosmetic renovations.

The applicant team said the donated site comprises roughly 90,000 square feet (about 20,000 square feet per floor) and includes 14 large spaces with adjacent smaller rooms that align with Arcadia’s planned classroom and breakout configuration. “It is a rent‑free facility,” a board member said, adding the only costs would be operational. Applicants described an agreement that includes a 20‑year term with a purchase option after that period.

On budget and fundraising, applicants said their planning/growth fundraising target is $4,000,000 (approximately $1,000,000 for the planning year and $3,000,000 during the growth years). Eduardo Contreras and other board members said $350,000 in private contributions have been promised with written confirmations; two anonymous donors pledged $50,000 each and the Brown Foundation committed $250,000, the applicants said. The application also lists expected Charter Schools Program (CSP) funds and a pending New Schools Venture Fund award under consideration.

TEA finance staff raised several contingencies. TEA asked the applicants to explain a hypothetical shortfall scenario in which year‑1 enrollment was 100 students rather than the proposed 240. The applicants acknowledged a projected deficit would arise under that scenario (TEA cited a deficit near $1.5 million using the proposed budget) and described concrete rebalancing options: increase student‑to‑teacher ratios modestly (for example from 12:1 to 15:1), reduce the number of teaching fellows or delay administrative hires, and have the superintendent serve initially as principal to limit early administrative expense. Eduardo Contreras said the staffing structure is built around cohorts of 60 students, so in a reduced enrollment scenario a teaching team could be cut without altering the school’s core model.

Applicants told TEA they would structure renovation agreements to protect capital investments. When asked who would “own” renovations if the facility donor relationship ended, a board member said the agreement would be written so the school could capitalize and depreciate expenditures and that the 20‑year agreement would protect the school’s investments in ordinary cosmetic renovations. Applicants also said most renovation needs are cosmetic given the building’s prior office use and existing security and restroom infrastructure.

Transportation was another area of discussion. Applicants said they budgeted funds for a van in the planning year and an annual transportation budget that scales to $48,000 at full enrollment; year‑1 transportation funding in the model would cover roughly 600 rides at an assumed $20 per trip. Arcadia leaders said many prospective students live within walking distance of the proposed campus and that they have been doing outreach at nearby apartment complexes. They also discussed potential partnerships to supplement transportation, including access to public transit passes in some cases; board members emphasized they are committed to ensuring students have access to school despite constraints.

TEA staff also asked about contingency reserves. Applicants said their budget versions include a 1 percent contingency; at full scale that contingency approaches roughly $100,000 and could be tapped in a shortfall year. Board members emphasized the school’s plan to take a year‑by‑year approach to fundraising and to preserve instructional resources in any rebalancing.

TEA will consider these financial and facility details as part of the commissioner’s recommendation process.