CSFA’s Charter School Pooled TRANs (ASAP Program)
A transparent, low-cost borrowing option to help charter
schools manage their cash-flow needs
What is CSFA’s Advances on State Aid Payments Program?
- Tax and Revenue Anticipation Notes, or TRANs, are a form of short-term debt used by school districts to even out temporary cash deficits caused by the State’s deferred apportionment payments
- Understanding that charter schools are not permitted to issue debt like TRANs, CSFA created the Advances on State Aid Payments (ASAP) Program to provide charter schools with simple, timely and fully transparent access to low-cost working capital funds
- The charter’s deferred apportionments will be accessed directly by the State Controller to automatically repay the loans with no future action required by the school
How will the ASAP Program be a low-cost option for charters?
- The ASAP Program was designed to offer charter schools and charter management organizations (CMOs) a lower cost alternative to bank lines of credit and the sale (factoring) of apportionment receivables
- The following factors will provide participating charter schools with a low-cost loan:
- Pooled TRANs decrease upfront fees by combining the loans of many charters at one time to create economies of scale
- Pooled TRANs aggregate the loans of many charters into a larger offering (without creating a joint obligation) to attract more investors and increase competition to lower interest costs
- An experienced financing team is “pre-assembled” to save the time and effort necessary for a charter school to execute its own short-term borrowing
Are there additional benefits of the ASAP Program?
- CSFA is a governmental entity governed by a three-member board comprised of the elected State Treasurer, the elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Director of Finance appointed by the Governor
- CSFA has served as conduit bond issuer on behalf of charter schools to improve access to the capital markets for over 10 years. CSFA’s low-cost fee structure and revenue intercept mechanism has made it a prominent conduit debt issuer for charter schools throughout the state, with 85 transactions totaling $1.58 billion to date
- CSFA’s state-level intercept of TRAN debt service will streamline repayment for charters and increase investor security
- The pooled TRANs will be supported by the State Treasurer’s Office (STO) which has expertise in overseeing all bond issuances of the State
- Financing documents will be standardized for consistency, and specific directions for board action will be provided to charters
- Charters will not be required to prepare monthly cash flows to determine a projected cash deficit. The loans will be sized using the schedule of deferred apportionments for FY 2020-21
What are the minimum requirements to apply to the ASAP Program?
- Charter schools that meet all of the following minimum requirements are encouraged to apply for an ASAP Program working capital loan:
- Operational for the full most recent academic year
- California non-profit public benefit corporation/limited liability company duly incorporated/formed in good standing under State laws
- Organization described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a) of the Code
- School is in good standing with its charter authorizer and is in compliance with all items of its charter at the time of application submission
- For a charter school to participate in the series of pooled TRANs secured by the loan-loss reserve fund, it will be required to certify that it satisfies one of these four criteria:
- Located in a school district and/or county where at least 50% of students have not met the State standard for proficiency in either math or language on the state assessment
- Located in a school district and/or county where at least 15% of public schools have been identified for improvement or corrective action
- Located in a school district and/or county with 60% or more of the student population is eligible for free or reduced-price meals (FRPM)
- Fifty percent or more of current or projected students enrolled at the charter school are eligible for FRPMFifty percent or more of current or projected students enrolled at the charter school are eligible for FRPM
Who is involved with the ASAP Program?
- The financing team selected by CSFA and the STO have over 30 years of K-14 TRAN expertise and competitive fees
- Issuer: California School Finance Authority
- Issuer’s Counsel: Office of the State Attorney General
- Agent for Sale: State Treasurer’s Office
- Municipal Advisor: Montague DeRose and Associates
- Note Counsel: Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
- Disclosure Counsel: Nixon Peabody
- Joint Sr. Managing Underwriters: RBC Capital Markets & Citigroup
- Interested Parties: CA Dept. of Finance, CA State Controller’s Office, CA Dept. of Education
What are the upfront costs and expected interest rates?
- There is no cost to apply to the ASAP Program
- We expect the ASAP Program to offer charters a total borrowing cost (upfront costs plus interest) which is very competitive with other working capital financing options
- Interested charters should contact the financing team to request a loan sizing with an estimated total borrowing cost
Who can I contact with questions?
| California School Finance Authority | Montague DeRose | RBC Capital Markets | Citigroup | Orrick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Katrina Johantgen Executive Director 213.620.2305 |
Mike Kremer Managing Director 805.728.1958 |
John Solarczyk Managing Director 213.362.4115 |
Victor Andrade Director 213.486.7144 |
Marc Bauer Partner 213.612.2325 |
| Annette Yee Managing Director 831.626.4524 |
Akshai Patel Vice President 602.381.5370 |
Debra Saunders Director 415.951.1749 |
||
| Kevin Dempsey Director 813.227.2057 |
How do I apply?
- CSFA provides an online application portal for a streamlined, secure, eco-friendly application process
- Please download, complete, and submit the Excel application via email
- Thank you!
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