BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 948 (Olsen) - Charter School Facility Grant Program
Amended: As Proposed to be AmendedPolicy Vote: Education 9-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 14, 2014
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez
SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Bill Summary: AB 948 expands eligibility for the Charter School
Facility Grant (CSFG) Program in any year in which additional
funds remain after state and federal funds have been allocated,
by reducing the free and reduced-price meals threshold one
percentage point at a time, from 70 to 60 percent.
Fiscal Impact (as approved on August 14, 2014): By expanding
CSFG program eligibility and use of funding, this bill will
result in a loss of annual state savings in the millions of
dollars. The exact amount will be determined by the CSFG program
balance each year. See staff comments.
Background: The CSFG Program provides assistance with facilities
rent and lease costs for pupils in charter schools. Subject to
the annual Budget Act, eligible schools receive an amount up to
$750 per unit of average daily attendance (ADA) to provide an
amount up to 75% of the charter school's annual facilities rent
and lease costs. In any fiscal year in which there are
insufficient funds to fully fund the approved amounts, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) is required to
apportion the available funds on a pro rata basis. The Budget
Act of 2013 shifted the program's administration to the
California School Finance Authority.
Charter schools are eligible, subject to certain other
conditions, for the CSFG funding if either of the following
conditions are met: a) they are physically located in the
attendance area of a public elementary school in which 70% or
more of the pupil enrollment is eligible for free or reduced
price meals, and the school gives a preference in admissions to
pupils who are currently enrolled in that public elementary
school and to pupils who reside in the elementary school
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attendance area where the charter school is located; or, b) 70%
or more of the pupils enrolled at the charter school are
eligible for free or reduced price meals.
CSFG funding must be used for costs associated with facilities
rents and leases, as specified, and may also be used for costs
associated with remodeling of a building, deferred maintenance,
initially installing or extending service systems and other
built-in equipment, and improving sites. (Education Code §
47614.5)
Proposed Law: AB 948 provides that in any year in which
additional funds remain after state and federal funds have been
allocated to applicants that meet the CSFG program's existing
eligibility criteria, the California Department of Education
(CDE) shall expand eligibility to additional schools that are
eligible by reducing the free and reduced-price meals threshold
one percentage point at a time, but not below 60%. This bill
eliminates legislative intent language specifying that not less
than eighteen million dollars annually be appropriated for
purposes of the grant program on the same basis as other
elementary and secondary education categorical programs, and
provides that a charter school shall be subject to audits for
purposes of this program.
Staff Comments: The purpose of this bill is to expend more CSFG
funding on charter schools, to offset their rent and leasing
costs, in accordance with the intention of the CSFG program. As
noted in Senate Education Committee analysis, funding for the
CSFG Program has recently increased due to the requirement that
funding for the Year Round School Grant Program be phased out
and transferred to the CSFG Program over a 5-year period
pursuant to SB 658 (Romero) Ch. 274/2008. The last transfer was
made as part of the 2012 Budget Act, and resulted in a program
total of $92 million Proposition 98 General Fund. The Budget Act
of 2013 includes $92 million Proposition 98 General Fund for the
program, and moves it under the administration of the California
School Finance Authority.
The CSFG program has not been able to fully expend its entire
appropriation, and does not expect to be able to this year. For
the 2011-12 fiscal year, approximately $13.9 million was unspent
and returned to the General Fund. Unspent Proposition 98 General
Fund from any program can be reappropriated for other K-14
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educational purposes.
By lowering the free and reduced-price meal threshold, this bill
will make more charter schools eligible for CSFG funding, and
reduce state savings from the program. The bill expands the
eligibility one percentage point at a time until either the
remaining funds are fully expended, or the all charter schools
at which at least 60% of their pupils are eligible for free or
reduced price meals have received funding. This bill specifies
that the expanded eligibility would only apply when there is
still money remaining after all charter schools meeting the
original criteria have been fully funded; the cost annual cost
would be up to the remaining fund balance.
Staff notes that if this bill begins providing additional
funding to charter schools in the 60%-69% low-income pupil
range, and in subsequent years there are insufficient funds to
do so, there will be cost pressure to continue to fund those
charter schools which may have begun to rely on that annual CSFG
funding
Committee Amendments recast the provisions to prevent the
chaptering out of other recent changes to the code sections
amended by this bill.