Fla. lawmakers closer to answer on charter school facilities

Florida lawmakers are moving closer to an agreement that would create more stable, predictable funding for charter school facilities.

The state House is pushing ahead with a plan, included in its budget package, that would require school districts to steer some of their local property taxes to charters. A similar effort had stalled in the Senate, but was jump-started this week and won bipartisan approval today from the Appropriations Committee.

SB 376 would steer more than $150 million to charter schools statewide, though funding would vary significantly among districts.

Before the committee passed the bill, Sen. Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, said he wanted to add more protections to head off “private enrichment” in charter school real estate deals.

“No one wants to have taxpayer money go to enrich someone, and then when they sell or divest, they make money, and they walk away with taxpayers’ money,” Braynon said. He had proposed an amendment to that effect, but withdrew it for the time being.

The bill already aims to rein in profiteering by requiring charter schools to either ensure their land would wind up in public hands if they ever closed, or enter lease agreements with companies that have no ties to the charter organization.

Those restrictions created heartburn for Chris Moya, a lobbyist who represents Charter Schools USA, one of the Florida’s largest management companies. He told the committee that charter schools rely on private developers and financiers because non-profit boards often have a hard time paying for facilities up-front with limited state funding. 

While the bill would double funding for charter schools statewide, Moya said facilities would still be costly to finance. He warned the bill could create a “chilling effect” on charter school expansion. Instead of restricting charter schools’ real estate transactions, he said, lawmakers should require charter schools to seek “a good deal, a fair market rate” on their buildings by getting an independent appraisal.

But the restrictions helped win the support of state Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee. He said he voted for the bill, in part, because he wants to resolve the annual tug-of-war over charter school funding.

“One way or another, we have to address the issue of capital for charter schools,” he said.

Montford said he still had concerns with the Senate’s proposal. For one thing, he said, districts are already struggling to pay for their own school buildings.

The House’s plan would exempt charter school debt service payments from the money they’re required to share with charter schools. 

Senate bill sponsor David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, acknowledged some districts are “tapped out” when it comes to facilities funding, and that he plans to negotiate a solution with the other chamber.

“We’re working on that,” he said.