Charter School Facilities Credit Enhancement Grant Program (CFDA#84.354A)
Designed to fund debt service reserves for the financing of acquisition, renovation, or construction of charter school facilities, or the refinancing of existing charter school facility debt.
Contact Information
If you have any questions about the Charter School Facilities Credit Enhancement Grant program, please contact CSFA.
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Program Overview
The federally-funded Charter School Facilities Credit Enhancement Grant Program was created from an $8.3 million grant awarded through the federal “Expanding Quality Charter Schools Program – Grants for Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities” (CFDA #84.354A) grant competition in 2011. CSFA was awarded an additional $20 million in 2023.This program provides grants to fully or partially fund debt service reserve accounts on bond transactions issued through the Authority. The grant is intended to reduce the overall cost of borrowing for charter schools as it eliminates the need to fund the reserve through bond proceeds. Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools typically do not receive funding from their local school districts to purchase, lease, or improve facilities. Securing financing can be problematic for new charter schools because they often lack assets to pledge and operating histories that lenders can rely on to evaluate a loan application. As a result, charter schools frequently operate in temporary space that is poorly suited to their educational mission. The program is intended to absorb some of the risks of making loans to charter schools for their facility needs.
Resources
- Program Regulations (Rulemaking File to SOS – 8/6/2024; Effective as of 8/6/2024)
- Program Application
- Good Standing Letter – Form CSFA 1119
For more information, please contact the CSFA Executive Director: Katrina Johantgen at (213) 620-4608 or Program Analysts: Daniel Madrid at (213) 620-2207 – or – Robert Biegler at (213) 620-6540