* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Mitchell
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
Title
Charter School Development Financing Authority - Funding the Education of Our Children
FOR the purpose of requesting that the City of Baltimore, along with local business owners, non-profit organizations, and other various private organizations, come together to aid in the formation of the Charter School Development Financing Authority in order to help Baltimore City Charter Schools develop innovative financing to pay for the upkeep of current facilities, provide funding for new charter school construction projects, and student grants, as well as provide the means to obtain and promote donations for the benefit of charter schools in Baltimore City.
Body
Recitals
For a charter school to be successful, the first challenge that administrators must overcome is finding the appropriate funding to finance the school buildings themselves. State charter school laws typically do not provide charter schools with any up-front funding for facilities, nor do they provide charter schools with ongoing revenue with which to make lease or loan payments. Unlike district schools that use existing public school buildings, charter school administrators must find facilities on their own with little or no funding from the state or district. As a result, charter schools must raise private funds or find other financing for up-front costs and then make lease and loan payments our of their operating funds.
The creation of a Charter School Development Financing Authority will help bring business owners, non-profit organizations, and State and local Governments together in order to deal with many of the financing challenges that charter schools have. These include finding facilities in which to house charter schools and finding up-front funding to pay for facilities.
School districts typically raise capital funding by issuing tax-exempt bonds or by having other local government bodies do so on their behalf. Since investors in tax-exempt bonds do not pay taxes on the interest they earn, these bonds carry a lower interest rate than do fully taxable bonds. In addition, school districts typically do not pay property taxes on the land and buildings they own. These 2 advantages lower the overall cost of district school facilities significantly. For these reasons, charter schools are at a funding disadvantage and need outside assistance to achieve their full potential.
The Charter School Development Financing Authority will be useful not only in helping to raise, organize, and track funds for charter schools, but it will also be an invaluable tool in the discovery of new and unique financing opportunities for future charter schools.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That this Body requests that the City of Baltimore, along with local business owners, non-profit organizations, and other various private organizations, come together to aid in the formation of the Charter School Development Financing Authority in order to help Baltimore City Charter Schools develop innovative financing to pay for the upkeep of current facilities, provide funding for new charter school construction projects, and student grants, as well as provide the means to obtain and promote donations for the benefit of charter schools in Baltimore City.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Maryland Charter School Network, BCPSS New School Initiatives, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the Council.
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