Presenter: Idaho charter financing programs saved schools about $113 million so far, but demand has outstripped capacity

Matthew Joseph, a senior policy advisor with AccelinEd, told a legislative committee that Idaho’s combined approach to charter school facilities financing — a short-term no-interest revolving loan fund plus a moral-obligation credit enhancement for long-term financing — has produced roughly $113,000,000 in interest-cost savings for charter schools to date while costing the state “$0” so far.

That savings, Joseph said, has allowed charter schools to reinvest money they otherwise would spend on facilities into instruction; the study he described estimated the savings are equivalent to about 10 additional teachers per charter school on average. He told committee members that the state’s two-pronged policy is unusual because it addresses schools’ needs at different points in their lifecycle: short-term start-up financing and later long-term bond financing supported by the state’s credit enhancement.

“Right now it’s capped out,” Joseph said of the program’s capacity for new borrowers, and he urged…