Lawmakers told Idahoprograms cut charter-school facility costs by $113 million with no state outlay

Matthew Joseph, senior policy advisor for education funding at ExcelinEd, told the Idaho House Education Committee that a combination of state-backed financing programs and private matching funds has produced large facility-cost savings for charter schools across Idaho.

"So far it's cost the state $0," Joseph said, and when the savings are summed across schools "the total savings so far ... is $113,000,000." He said that, when annualized, those savings allow each charter school in Idaho to reinvest in instruction equivalent to roughly 10 additional teachers.

The committee heard that two state policies are central to the result: a short-term revolving loan fund for early-stage charter financing and a separate credit-enhancement program commonly described in the meeting as a "moral obligation" backing that lowers borrowing costs in the long-term bond market. Joseph credited…