Study: Idaho financing programs cut charter facility costs, save roughly $113 million over 15 years

A national education-policy group told the Idaho Senate Education Committee that a set of state financing policies has substantially reduced charter school facility costs and freed money for instruction.

Matthew Joseph, senior policy advisor at the nonprofit AccelinEd, told the committee Idaho’s combination of a short-term revolving loan fund and a long-term credit-enhancement program — described in the presentation as a “moral obligation” credit enhancement — has saved charter schools an estimated $113,000,000 over roughly 15 years. “The state so far has spent $0 to do this,” Joseph said, adding that the savings translate, on average, to the equivalent of about 10 teachers per charter school per year.

Joseph said the typical charter school in Idaho spends about $1,857 per student on facilities and, even with existing supports, was left needing roughly $1,294 per student from operating funds. The state programs he described…