Charter School Financing and Development
Frequently Asked Questions

Charter School Facility FAQ's

A typical charter school should plan to allocate approximately 65-80 square feet per student. Normally, a school’s space will be divided into 2/3 classrooms, and 1/3 office and support areas.

Although some national guidelines suggest that a school’s facilities expenses should be about 25 percent of total budget, ACD thinks that is too much. American Charter Development implements the 20 percent rule, which means that ACD will not provide a facility with an annual lease payment that exceeds 20 percent of annual gross income. ACD strives to keep costs as low as possible, but we suggest that schools plan for a worst-case scenario (20 percent) in their budgets.

Ultimately, the school will be in the strongest financial position by owning their own facility. However, if the school is at less than 70 percent of projected enrollment, leasing a facility with option to expand will probably be more beneficial in the short term. ACD is well informed and has worked with several schools in phasing their projects to provide a project suited to their needs. If you are a mature school, ACD may have the ability to help you secure alternate financing to purchase the facility as soon as possible.

Most schools start out with a long wish list, but ultimately the facility needs to be designed and constructed based on what the school can realistically afford. Classroom and administrative areas are the first priority, followed by any specialized areas, which are critical to the unique needs of your program, and finally to the amenities such as a gym, auditorium, commercial kitchen, etc.

Basic Charter School Questions

A charter school is an independent public school that operates independently of the district board of education. In essence, a charter school is a one-school public school district. A group of people — educators, parents, community leaders, educational entrepreneurs or others — formulize a charter plan describing the school’s guiding principles, governance structure, and applicable accountability measures. If the state approves the charter, the state funds the charter on a per pupil basis. In most cases charter schools operate under a clear agreement between the state and the school: increased autonomy in exchange for increased accountability. Because they are schools of choice, they are held to the highest level of accountability — consumer demand.

Choice: Charter schools allow families the opportunity to select the school most suitable for their child’s needs. Teachers, as well, choose to work at charter schools, some believe, because they allow for more freedom to innovate in education.
Accountability: Charter school development is accountable for how well they educate children in a safe environment, and not for compliance with district or state regulations. Charter schools must adhere to their individual charter contracts, as well as demonstrate that they can perform up to rigorous fiscal and managerial standards. If a charter school cannot perform up to the established standards, it will be closed.
Independence: While charter schools must adhere to the same major laws and regulations as all other public schools, they are freed from the traditional bureaucracy and regulations that some feel diverts a school’s energy and resources away from educational excellence. Instead of constantly jumping through procedural hoops, charter school leaders can focus on setting and reaching high academic standards for their students.

Charter schools are public schools. They are funded according to enrollment and receive funding from the state according to the number of students attending the school. In most states, however, charter schools do not receive the full equivalent of their district counterparts. Nationwide, on average, as noted above, charter schools are funded at 61 percent of conventional district schools, which impacts the charter school financing.

Charter School Financing and Development
Frequently Asked Questions

Charter School Facility FAQ's

Basic Charter School Questions

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Charter School Financing and Development Frequently Asked Questions

Charter School Facility FAQ's

Basic Charter School Questions

services

our company

projects

newsletter

School Leaders!

Charter School Financing and Development
Frequently Asked Questions