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| Wilson Secures Federal Funding for Charter Schools |
January 12, 2001 |
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Legislation makes funds available to pilot programs
Albuquerque, NM -- Congresswoman Heather Wilson joined leaders from New Mexico charter schools today to announce the availability of $25 million in federal funding to develop innovative financing mechanisms for fledgling charter schools.
Wilson pushed for the funding in the closing days of the 106th Congress and succeeded in earmarking $25 million for a pilot project to help charter schools get off the ground. New Mexico’s Congresswoman worked closely with charter school proponents to increase the availability of start-up funds to charter schools in New Mexico and across the nation through innovative finance arrangements.
Today, she’s urging New Mexicans who are working to establish charter schools to work together to apply for a portion of the $25 million made available through a one-time grant. And she’s pledging to help make the project a success for New Mexico. The funding was included in the final FY 2001 Omnibus Budget bill passed by Congress and signed into law by the President on December 21, 2000.
Charter Schools, unlike traditional public schools, don’t have access to bond funds. Charter schools that are able to find funding are often relegated to a series of portable units, basements, community centers, or co-location with existing public schools.
“This is a wonderful start,” said Wilson at a news conference announcing the pilot program. “But it’s important to note that this is only the beginning. We need to invest heavily in innovative ideas like charter schools so we can provide children the quality education they need. This funding certainly has the potential to ease the biggest challenge new charter schools face, and that’s access to capital.”
“Heather is working consistently with the charter school movement to help us unlock the tremendous potential in our communities,” said Daniel Dominguez, a member of the South Valley Charter School Board of Directors. “This funding is a tremendous move forward for charter schools and we welcome this pilot program. We will continue to work closely with Congresswoman Wilson and other leaders in the charter school movement to develop funding mechanisms for charter school construction.”
“I look forward to continuing the progress we’ve made in helping charter schools succeed in New Mexico and throughout the country,” continued Wilson. “I’m very excited about the number of charter schools that have blossomed in New Mexico. Your success,” she said to charter school operators at the press conference, “is proof that our investment in charter schools is a sound one. This is about improving the quality of education available to New Mexico’s children, and I’ll keep working to achieve that goal.”
The legislation announced today provides a one-time grant for three pilot programs that would seek innovative ways of financing charter school start-ups. $25 million is available for fiscal year 2001. Nationally, at least three grants will be awarded. Each pilot program awarded the grant would establish a program to offer innovative forms of providing start-up capital to charter schools.
Applications are submitted to the U.S. Secretary of Education and are required to contain (but not limited to):
Expected use of funding;
A description of the applicants’ expertise in capital market financing;
A description of how the proposed activities will leverage the maximum amount of private-sector financing capital relative to the amount of government funding used;
A Description of how the applicant will evaluate the likelihood of success of a charter school program for which facilities financing is sought.
Grant recipients will be required to submit an annual assessment report to the U.S. Secretary of Education. Since the legislation authorizing the funding was signed into law just two weeks ago, details about implementation of the legislation are not yet available.
Throughout the 106th Congress, Wilson worked closely with members of the House Education Committee on school funding proposals.
In March 2000 Wilson introduced the Neighborhood schools Act of 2000 to create a loan guarantee fund for the construction, acquisition, modernization, or renovation of public charter schools or to purchase or replace equipment. In early December 2000, Wilson announced that she would lobby House leadership to include a plan to reduce the cost of building charter schools in New Mexico and across the country in the final version of the Department of Education’s budget for next year.
This legislation and resulting funding is the culmination of Wilson’s efforts. |
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