Todd Ziebarth, Senior Vice President of State Advocacy and Support at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, says the following:
“Congratulations to Idaho’s legislature and Governor Brad Little for enacting SB 1042 and SB 1043 into law. The two laws will support increased access to funding for facilities, allowing charter schools and leadership to focus more funding in the classroom and on students. The new laws are excellent steps forward in Idaho’s commitment to growing a successful public charter school sector for students and families.”
SB 1042 deals with credit enhancement for charter schools, seeking to assist established charter schools in obtaining lower interest rates on bonds. Previous legislation had created a credit enhancement financing tool, but it has reached its statutory cap. SB 1042 amends the existing statute to raise the cap on the overall capacity of the tool, allowing more schools to participate.
SB 1043 creates a revolving loan fund to help new and recently established public charter schools obtain lower interest rates on loans so that more taxpayer dollars stay in the classroom instead of being redirected towards high-interest facility loans.
The National Alliance acknowledges the leadership of the Idaho Charter School Network, BLUUM, Senator Lori Den Hartog, Senator Chuck Winder, Representative Wendy Horman, Representative Lance Clow, and Representative Julie Yamamoto for their instrumental work in championing these bills.
