For Immediate Release: October 2005

Optimal Solutions Group was recently awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Education to conduct an implementation study of the Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Program. 

The number of charter schools in the country has seen rapid growth in recent years.   However, in seeking credit to finance school facilities, charter schools face unique challenges not faced by traditional schools.  More specifically, charter schools are viewed by lending institutions as having high risk of not being able to pay off long-term loans because most charters are subject to contract renewal every three to five years. Additionally, unlike traditional local education agencies, charter schools often lack the ability to issue low risk, general obligation bonds backed by property taxes.  To address these issues, Congress enacted the Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Program, which provides grants to permit eligible organizations to demonstrate innovative credit enhancement initiatives for charter schools.

The purpose of this 18-month implementation study is to:

• describe the implementation of the Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Program, and
• document the program outcomes for charter schools in the first three year

Optimal has served the needs of numerous governmental and commercial clients, including federal and state agencies, community-based organizations, business associations, and law firms.

For more information, contact Mark Turner, 443.451.7060 or mturner@optimalsolutionsgroup.com.