1. © 2015 School Services of California, Inc. Charter School Access to District Facilities FAC30 These materials have been prepared by the CASBO Facilities Professional Council (or CASBO Associate Member.) They have not been reviewed by State CASBO for approval, so therefore are not an official statement of CASBO. 1

2. © 2015 School Services of California, Inc.  Tom Silva  Facilities Professional Council State Chair  Brianna García  Director, Management Consulting Services; School Services of California, Inc. 1 © 2015 School Services of California, Inc. Introductions

3. © 2015 School Services of California, Inc. Two main ways to access district facilities Surplus Property – Lease or Purchase Proposition 39 (2000) 2 Access to District Facilities © 2015 School Services of California, Inc.

4. Assembly Bill 86 (Blumenfield, D-Sherman Oaks) [Chapter 48/2013]) Requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to give charter schools first right to surplus property through July 1, 2016 Applies only to charter schools having projections of at least 80 units of in-district average daily attendance (ADA) for the following fiscal year The governing board must first provide a written offer for the sale or lease of the surplus property to any charter school that has submitted a written request for notification about the sale or lease of surplus property 3 Surplus Property © 2015 School Services of California, Inc.

5. Charter schools must use the property to provide direct instruction or instructional support for no less than five years from the date the real property is available to the charter school The price of the property cannot exceed the school district’s cost of acquisition plus adjustment, and the lease amount cannot exceed 5% of the maximum sale price This applies to surplus property identified after July 1, 2012 4 Surplus Property © 2015 School Services of California, Inc.

6. Proposition 39’s provisions relating to charter schools are based on two premises: Students in public charter schools are entitled to reasonable access to a safe and secure learning environment Public school facilities should be shared fairly among all public school pupils, including those in charter schools Proposition 39 requires that school districts provide reasonably equivalent, contiguous, furnished, and equipped space to charter schools serving in-district students in classroom-based instruction 5 Proposition 39 (2000) © 2015 School Services of California, Inc.

7. Any charter school that is “operating” in your district – either: Currently educating at least 80 in-district students Not yet serving district pupils, but having identified at least 80 in-district students who are meaningfully interested in enrolling in the charter school the following year The district’s obligation is to house classroom ADA, not ADA in nonclassroom-based programs (e.g., independent study) Facility requests based on projections of fewer than 80 in-district students may be denied 6 Who May Request Facilities? © 2015 School Services of California, Inc.

8. New or proposed charter schools must submit charter petition before November 1 and receive approval of charter petition before March 15 to be eligible to make a facility request The Education Code states that a school district shall make facilities available based on the charter school’s projection of in-district classroom ADA However, the Title 5 regulations clarify that a district may use different assumptions for the ADA projection, provided the reasons for these assumptions are explained in writing 7 Who May Request Facilities? © 2015 School Services of California, Inc.

9. Charter school submits request Charter school responds to any district objections Charter school responds to district’s preliminary proposal District reviews and responds to charter school ADA projections District prepares preliminary proposal District makes final offer Dec 1 Jan 2Feb 1 Mar 1 Nov 1 May 1 Apr 1 Charter school accepts or rejects final offer Space must be ready for occupancy at least ten working days before charter school’s first day of instruction 8 Annual Deadlines for Facilities Applications © 2015 School Services of California, Inc.

10. The district should review the charter school’s projections of in-district ADA and provide any objections and state its reasonable projections to the charter school in writing The January 2 deadline gives the charter school a “reasonable opportunity” to respond to any concerns and objections The “Preliminary Proposal” from the school district will include the space to be allocated and the pro rata share amount The “Preliminary Proposal” should be given to the charter school sufficiently in advance of the “Final Offer” (due April 1) to allow a “reasonable opportunity” for the charter school to review and comment 9 The Preliminary District Response

11. © 2015 School Services of California, Inc. The April 1 notification must “specifically identify” all of the following: The location and condition of the teaching stations and nonteaching stations (1) offered for the exclusive use of the charter school and (2) to be shared with district-operated programs (along with the arrangements for sharing) The in-district classroom ADA assumptions for the charter school upon which the allocation is based If the assumptions are different than those submitted by the charter school, the notification should include a written explanation of the reasons for the differences The pro rata share amount and the payment schedule 10 Final Notification for the District

12. © 2015 School Services of California, Inc. The charter school must notify the district in writing whether or not it plans to occupy the offered space The charter school notification deadline is May 1 or 30 days after the school district notification, whichever is later The notification from the charter school can be withdrawn or modified before the deadline However, after the deadline... If the charter school has notified the school district that it intends to occupy the offered space, the charter school is committed to paying the pro rata share amount as identified 11 After the Request and the District Notification... What Happens Next?

13. © 2015 School Services of California, Inc. If the charter school does not notify the school district by this deadline that it intends to occupy the offered space, then the space remains available for the school district and the charter school is not entitled to use facilities of the school district in the following year 12 After the Request and the District Notification... What Happens Next?

14. © 2015 School Services of California, Inc. The school district and the charter school “shall negotiate” an agreement The agreement shall contain (at a minimum) the specifications included in the April 1 notification from the district In addition, the school district may require that the agreement include the following: Liability insurance from the charter school naming the district as also insured Charter school compliance with district policies regarding the operation and maintenance of the facility, furnishings, and equipment 13 After the Request and the District Notification... What Happens Next?

15. © 2015 School Services of California, Inc. The school district and the charter school may also negotiate for services beyond what is required by Proposition 39 (e.g., additional space, operations or maintenance services, security services, etc.) Most importantly, make sure the agreement clearly spells out all rights and responsibilities, including use of library books, liability insurance, use of keys, etc. 14 After the Request and the District Notification... What Happens Next?

16. © 2015 School Services of California, Inc. To provide reasonably equivalent, contiguous, furnished, and equipped space Space includes regular classrooms, share of specialized classrooms, plus nonteaching space – administrative space, kitchen, play area, etc. To make reasonable efforts to provide facilities near to where charter school wishes to locate and not to move charter school unnecessarily The standard for reasonably equivalent is determined by looking at a comparison group of district-operated schools with similar grade levels 15 What is the District’s Obligation?

17. © 2015 School Services of California, Inc. “Furnished and equipped” means all the furnishing and equipment “necessary to conduct classroom instruction and provide for student services that directly support classroom instruction as found in the comparison group schools” – at a minimum: desks, chairs, and blackboards Contiguous means on one site – or minimum number of sites, if needs cannot be accommodated on one site If the charter school cannot be accommodated on a single site, then the governing board must make a finding and adopt a written statement of reasons explaining the finding 16 What is the District’s Obligation?

18. What Is the District’s Obligation? Calculation 1: District ratio of enrollment to teaching stations 1,500/60 = 25:1 Charter school needs 200/25 = 8 classrooms Calculation 2: District must house all 1,700 pupils at these three schools 1700/60 = 28:1 Charter school needs 200/28 = 7.14 classrooms 114 Issue 1: What do you do with fractional classrooms? Issue 2: How do you do a fair calculation when comparable schools are only part of the district? Unfortunately, regulations are silent on these points Examples of Computing Comparable Classrooms District has 3 schools with 1,500 enrollment and 60 teaching stations; and a charter school currently serving 200 in-district students requests facilities 17 © 2015 School Services of California, Inc.

19. Los Angeles Unified School District On December 5, 2012, the California Court of Appeals ruled that school districts may use their existing student-to-enrollment ratios when calculating the allocation of classrooms to a charter school The court ruling overturned a lower court ruling that school districts base allocations on gross inventory of classrooms The Court of Appeals describes this method from the lower court as “it may well have anomalous results” and noted that “a statute should not be construed to create absurd results” The California Supreme Court heard oral arguments in early February and a decision is anticipated in April 18 Litigation Update

20. © 2015 School Services of California, Inc. Districts may charge a “pro rata share” of districtwide unrestricted General Fund facilities costs, translated into a per- square-foot amount (i.e., General Fund expenses divided by total square footage) Allowable costs paid with unrestricted General Fund monies, including, but not limited to: Contributions to routine repair and maintenance account, which includes deferred maintenance Replacement of furnishings and equipment according to district schedules Groundskeeping Facility rents and leases (rare) Debt service (if paid by unrestricted revenues) 19 Charges for Facilities

21. © 2015 School Services of California, Inc. Charter school share is based on the square footage allocated to the charter school (including the proration of shared space) multiplied by the per-square-foot facilities costs Recommendation: Have a written agreement regarding facilities separate from the charter petition 20 Charges for Facilities

22. © 2015 School Services of California, Inc. If charter school generates fewer in-district classroom ADA than projected level of ADA, it can be subject to a penalty for the overallocated space But only if the difference is equal to or greater than 10% of the projected in-district ADA, or 25, whichever is greater For example, for a school projecting 80 in-classroom ADA, there is no penalty for actual ADA as low as 56 Rate is a per-pupil rate set by the State Board of Education and is adjusted annually by the California Department of Education Charter school is not subject to the penalty for the first year of operation 21 Penalty for Overallocated Space

23. © 2015 School Services of California, Inc. Facilities, furnishings, and equipment remain property of district The charter school must comply with district policies regarding maintenance and operations Deferred maintenance projects are responsibility of the district Unlike mandates imposed by statute, mandates imposed by the initiative process (i.e., Proposition 39) are not reimbursable District is not required to use unrestricted General Fund revenues to rent, buy, or lease facilities A conversion school should annually submit a facility request – unless its charter clearly gives it the right to the entire school 22 Other Considerations

24. © 2015 School Services of California, Inc. Thank you! 23