Study presented to Idaho Senate: state financing programs cut charter facility costs, save about $113 million over 15 years

BOISE — Matthew Joseph, senior policy advisor for education funding at the nonprofit AccelinEd, told the Idaho Senate Education Committee that state policies to lower charter school facility costs have produced substantial savings and kept more money in classrooms.

Joseph said Idaho’s approach — a short‑term revolving loan fund for start‑up financing plus a long‑term “moral obligation” credit enhancement that lowers bond interest rates — has cost the state essentially nothing so far and produced an aggregate savings the study valued at about $113,000,000 over 15 years. "The state so far has spent $0 to do this," Joseph said. "A hundred and $13,000,000 is being saved." He said that, when annualized and converted into educator payroll, the savings equal roughly 10 teachers per charter school each year.

Why it matters: Charter schools generally must pay for facilities from operating dollars that otherwise fund instruction. By…