LISC Wins $10MM Dept. of Education Grant to Expand Charter School Facilities in Low-Income Communities

NEW YORK, Aug. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Education has awarded the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) a $9.98 million grant to help finance the development, expansion and improvement of public charter school facilities serving low-income students and communities.

LISC will use the funds to help capitalize a loan pool to provide below-market financing for charter facilities as well as a guaranty fund to credit enhance charter school debt via municipal bonds, mortgages and leasehold improvement loans. The federal funds will leverage private dollars to help move charter projects forward.  

"You can not create a healthy, sustainable community without making sure families have access to a quality education for their children," commented Michael Rubinger, LISC president and CEO.  "Schools are fundamental.  When they are deteriorating, crime-ridden and failing, it is almost impossible for students to succeed.  Our goal is to support innovative alternatives that respond to local need and give kids the best chance to thrive and grow."

LISC was the only grantee in this year's competition for the Credit Enhancement for Charter School Facilities Grant Program, through which the Department of Education has awarded 31 grants of more than $222 million to 19 organizations since 2001.  Those grants have leveraged $2.3 billion nationwide for charter facility development and expansion.

This is LISC's fourth grant through the program, bringing its total award to more than $36 million, which has leveraged more than $400 million in financing for 72 schools.

"This grant will go a long way in helping to serve more children and families looking for educational options," said Reena Bhatia, director of LISC's Education Programs.  "The difficult lending environment has severely impacted the availability of low-cost capital for charter facilities and our flexible resources can help alleviate some of those constraints."

Currently, there 5,300 public schools operating under charters, educating approximately 1.7 million children nationally, with more than 400,000 children on waiting lists.  Lack of access to appropriate public facilities or to public funding for facilities continues to be a major obstacle for these school operators, Bhatia said.

LISC has published two important studies over the past two years highlighting the challenges and opportunities for charter facility development:  one maps the charter school facility finance landscape and the other is a comprehensive analysis of the charter school bond sector.  The LISC studies can be found at: http://www.lisc.org/section/ourwork/national/education.

Since 2003, LISC has invested $104MM in 136 public charter school facilities around the country as part of its Building Sustainable Communities initiative to help distressed communities improve their quality of life.

"Developing charter facilities can have a far-reaching impact on communities," Bhatia said.  "In addition to the schools, it creates jobs, improves streetscapes and contributes to broader community revitalization efforts," Bhatia said.  "In so many ways, this grant will have a significant, direct impact on the lives of families grappling with the affects of ongoing economic decline."

About LISC

LISC combines corporate, government and philanthropic resources to help nonprofit community development corporations revitalize distressed neighborhoods. Since 1980, LISC has raised $11.1 billion to build or rehab 277,000 affordable homes and develop 44 million square feet of retail, community and educational space nationwide. LISC support has leveraged nearly $33.9 billion in total development activity.  For more information, visit www.lisc.org.

Contacts:
Reena Bhatia, LISC EFFC
 212-455-9884 or [email protected]
Colleen Mulcahy, LISC Communications
 312-342-8244 or [email protected]

SOURCE Local Initiatives Support Corporation

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