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Idahoans for Choice in Education Expanding Educational Choice for Idaho Families
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A month ago the Idaho Press
Tribune ran a story about Gale Pooley making a loan to get North Star
Charter School off the ground. The line of credit was $300,000 and he
was going to charge 6%. This was based the interest rate he was being
charged. The interest cost ended up being around $6,600, of which Pooley
actually paid 60%. The school ultimately paid an effective rate of
around 2%. Of course the Idaho-Press Tribune spun the story to look like
Pooley was profiting from the loan. Given the Press-Tribune's continuing
bias against charter schools and pro-teachers union stance, this was not
surprising. Today they published Pooley's guest opinion on the issue. ------------- Charter Schools Give Communities ChoICE-PACs - Gale Pooley Idaho Press Tribune 1/25/06 p. Main 6 Like many Idahoans, our family is deeply committed to improving Idaho’s public education system. We, along with over one hundred other North Star Public Charter School families, have invested thousands of dollars and thousands of hours in creating an environment where students can achieve their potential. Fortunately for taxpayers, and unlike district schools, public charter schools cannot impose property taxes to construct new buildings. Charter schools usually have to start with portable classrooms or rent an older church building. These schools then typically cut operating expenses to the bone for several years in order to save up enough to make a down payment on a building. Banks are generally unwilling to risk loaning money to a new charter school with no track record. We realized that if we were not fully committed to the school’s success, how could we expect anyone else to support us? We were convinced the school would be successful if given the chance. It was a risk we were willing to take. We ultimately decided to do what the founders of Google did: we used our personal credit cards to finance this new start-up. To begin construction we pledged $300,000 from our personal lines of credit and guaranteed repayment. Once the banks knew we were personally committed, the school was then able to secure a mortgage loan funded jointly by Wells Fargo and Zions Bank to pay for the remainder of our construction costs. The school needed all the help it could get during this time. The interest and other fees to servICE-PAC this debt over this period exceeded $6,600. We choose to pay over 60% of these fees and billed the school for the remainder. Most people would consider this a generous gift towards improving public education, unless you’re opposed to charter schools. North Star ultimately cost less than $5,000 per seat to build. Treasure Valley District schools generally spend two to three times this rate. Meridian School District’s new K-8 magnet school in Eagle is estimated to cost $16,000 per seat, and the district’s medical and technical charter schools cost well over $20,000 per seat. It’s amazing how much less things cost when you're spending your own money instead of the taxpayers'. Charter schools have proven to add tremendous value to Idaho’s public education system. Achievement growth rates are typically 20% to 30% higher than district schools and costs are 20% to 30% lower. This translates to 50% to 75% higher productivity than district schools. This is great news, unless you don’t like the competition. Charter schools represent choice and accountability in public education. The idea of parents freely choosing which school is best for their children in an open market terrifies many of those who have grown comfortable enjoying the tremendous benefits of a government financed and protected monopoly. You can expect these beneficiaries to demonize anyone that threatens their cartel. We are thankful to have been a part of creating this valuable civic asset for our community. Charter schools must rely on parents that are willing to make great personal sacrifICE-PACs, take significant financial risks, and be innovative. In other words, they have to be Americans. |
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ICE-PAC P.O Box 933 Boise, ID 83701 |
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