Dear School Leaders and Business Managers,

Please accept our sincere gratitude for your ongoing support and commitment to the Colorado League of Charter Schools. As valued members of our community, your input is crucial in shaping the future direction of the League. Therefore, we invite you to participate in the Colorado League of Charter Schools 2023-24 Member Survey. 

The survey should take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete and will close on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at 5:00 PM. As an added incentive, participants can enter a random drawing for one of ten $50 gift cards by including their email address at the end of the survey.

Should you have any questions or concerns regarding the survey, please do not hesitate to reach out to Kevin Hesla at [email protected].

Thank you for your time and attention.

Charter School Capital Construction Funding for Next School Year

Thanks to the League's persistent advocacy efforts, we've managed to increase the state's Charter School Capital Construction Fund significantly over the past decade, from just $95 per student in 2014-15 to nearly $400 per student today.

But over the past couple of years, we've been contending with the fact that one of the sources of revenue for the fund (marijuana excise tax) has been in decline. Last year, we were able to counteract the effects of this decline by getting the legislature to agree to a last-minute injection of $10 million from the State Education Fund, but unless we're able to accomplish something similar this year, we're anticipating a reduction in the amount of charter school per-pupil facilities aid to around $265 per student.

Knowing that we're in the midst of budget season for many of our schools, we wanted to be sure to alert you to this possibility. While it is one we're actively working to forestall, it is a distinct possibility nonetheless given the overall tight budget parameters within which legislators are currently operating at the Capitol.

Another option we're closely assessing is the possibility of significant new facilities matching funds from the federal government. The US Department of Education (USDOE) runs a competitive grant program every five years known as the State Charter School Facilities Incentive Grant program. This program provides competitive grants to help states establish and enhance or administer “per-pupil facilities aid” for charter schools. The federal funds are used to match programs funded with non-federal dollars that make payments, on a per-pupil basis, to provide charter schools with facilities financing. Our state's Charter School Capital Construction Fund is a perfect example of this.

2024 is a year when the USDOE is supposed to run this competition, and we believe Colorado could be in a favorable place to compete. We're actively working with CDE to explore this possibility. If we could unlock these federal matching funds, there's a chance we could not only prevent a decline in the overall amount of the Colorado Charter School Capital Construction Fund but actually see it markedly increase.

We'll be sure to keep you apprised of progress related to that, as well as our efforts to secure another one-time injection of funds from the legislature over the next month to offset declining receipts from marijuana excise tax revenue. Colorado's legislature adjourns on May 8, so we should know by no later than then whether or not we're able to accomplish the latter. In the meantime, though — and especially as you work to develop your budgets for next year — we wanted to make sure you were aware of the anticipated reduction and what that would translate into on a per-student basis next year.

EF Global Professional Learning Program for Leaders in Education

The Colorado League of Charter Schools is proud to partner with EF Educational Tours to offer school and network leadership (administrators, executive directors, CEOs, etc.) this unique professional development opportunity.  APPLY NOW for a full scholarship to participate in travel-based learning in Panama from October 10th through 14th, 2024! Applications are due by Friday, April 5th, 2024. For more information, contact Heather Keeton, Educational Partnerships Manager for EF: [email protected] or 720.903.8639.