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A Parent's Guide to Charter School Facility Challenges

Finding and securing a high-quality facility is a challenge for many charter schools. Under state law, school districts are required to provide charter schools with facilities that are "reasonably equivalent" to other schools in the districts. However, for a variety of reasons, this doesn't always happen and charter schools are forced to find other solutions. Some charter schools raise money in order to build their own facility or buy and fix up an existing building. Many schools rent or lease space in commercial buildings, churches or other spaces. Other schools might work with the school district to put up portables or bungalows on part of a campus or on an empty lot.

These facilities struggles directly impact students in many ways:

Having to pay for facilities takes money away from the classroom.

Charters that pay to rent space or buy a building usually have to pull that money out of their operating funds, money that would otherwise go to teaching students. Essentially, charter schools in this situation must take money from the "classroom" to pay for the physical classroom itself. Meanwhile, traditional district schools receive money for school buildings from local school construction bonds and other state programs. This unfairness can cost charter schools 15 to 20% of their yearly funding, or as much as $1200 per student.

It is tough on families when charter schools have to move.

Some charter schools are forced to move multiple times if they aren't able to secure a long-term lease or if they receive an offer of space from the district far away from their original location or not in the neighborhood they want to serve. For many families, it can be difficult and sometimes impossible to find transportation to a campus which is located well outside their neighborhood. Districts often offer charters space which is woefully inadequate. This problem can also prevent a school from being able to grow and serve more students, if there simply isn't enough space.

Students deserve to be in a healthy environment for learning.

When charter schools can't find adequate space, they may end up with limited playing fields or playground space or overcrowded classrooms. For instance, they might not have a special room for science labs or not be able to have sports teams if they don't have a field. Charter school students deserve quality space to learn!

For all these reasons, Families That Can and the California Charter Schools Association work hard to make sure charter schools have the facilities they need for student success. That includes making sure state legislators know how these laws affect charter schools, as well as working directly with local school districts to provide quality facilities to charter schools.

Going Deeper

There are many key state programs to support charter schools in securing adequate facilities, one of the most important of which is Proposition 39. Charters can also apply for funds to help off-set their rent or to assist them in building a permanent facility.

In 2000, voters passed Proposition 39 (Prop. 39), which requires school districts to provide charter schools with facilities that are "reasonably equivalent" to other schools in the district. The idea behind Prop. 39 is based on fairness - that all public school students deserve a quality space to learn, whether they attend charter public schools or conventional public schools. Charter students are public school students and they should not be treated like second-class citizens!

The first step of the process is for the charter school to make an official request for a "Prop. 39 Facility," which must include certain details, such as how many students they will be serving within the district. Once the district is put on notice of the charter's facilities needs, the district may respond in one of many ways. Here are some examples:

  • Co-location: The district may offer the charter school some classrooms at a district school, having the charter and district school share common space like the cafeteria and auditorium.
  • Portables: Some districts find space on their campuses or own unused land where the charter school can be housed in portables.
  • Long-term lease: Many districts currently have fewer students than they enrolled several years ago, meaning they might have even entire schools that are not being used. Sometimes a charter school can move into an unused school building.
  • Rental assistance: If the district doesn't have any usable space, some districts help the charter school by contributing funds toward the cost of renting a facility.
  • Permanent solution: School districts often have bond money that they can use to upgrade buildings or build new ones. Another possibility is having the district build the charter school a permanent campus.

SB 740

The Charter School Facility Grant Program, also known as SB 740, is an important source of funds for schools that are eligible. Charter schools where at least 70 percent of students are eligible for the Free-and-Reduced Lunch Program can receive up to $750 annually per student to put toward renting or leasing a facility. Currently, more than 200 charters across California receive funding from this program.

State Funding: California Charter School Facilities Program (Prop. 1D and Prop. 55)

The Charter School Facilities Program (CSFP) allows charter schools to access state facility funding directly or through the school district where the project will be located. Through the passage of Propositions 47, 55, and 1D, $900 million has been made available for building new charter schools or rehabilitating existing school district facilities for charter school use.

Many charter schools have successfully applied for and received these funds, which must be used within a certain timeline, and under strict state guidelines. If done well, these funds can be used to construct new, state of the art facilities. It can be a lengthy process to access this funding, but it can bring big rewards to charter schools and their students.

Local Funding: School Construction Bonds

Every year, the state gives schools funds they need to operate, money to pay teachers, buy school books and supplies and keep the campus clean. However, when local schools need major upgrades to their buildings or the community needs to build new schools, usually the local school district proposes a school bond to raise money.

A bond is basically a tax. The district looks at how much it is going to cost for all their school construction projects and the number of people who live in the school district's boundary. Then the district puts a tax on the ballot to cover the full cost. Since this raises local taxes, 55 percent of voters must approve the bond for it to take effect.

In the past, local school bonds did not include charter schools. Even though the parents of charter school students paid the local tax for the bond, the schools their children attended did not benefit. Recently, some communities have included charter schools in their local bonds for the first time ever and charter school families are working to make sure their schools receive these important local funds.

Take Action

Talk to your school leader to learn more about your charter school's facility.
Connect with your school leader and board to understand how they found your current facility and how they fund it. What state programs are particularly important for your school? Are there any efforts underway to improve your current facility or to move into a new building?

Connect with your local elected officials and make sure they know how facilities issues affect students at your school.

The key to effectively working with your elected leaders is to build a relationship before you need it. Work with your school leader to invite your state legislators and school board members to visit your school and to talk directly to parents about how facilities problems affect students. That groundwork will be vital for connecting with them when you critically need their support.

Keep up-to-date on the yearly budget negotiations and new state laws proposed in the state Capitol.

Visit www.familiesthatcan.org and click "Join" to sign up to receive all the latest updates and action alerts on happenings in the Capitol that could affect your school.

Get involved in your local school bond measure.

If your local school district is considering a campaign to raise money for school improvements, get involved and push for charter schools to get a fair share of the bond money.

Download this information as a PDF handout.

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