Provides guidance for North Carolina communities considering installment purchase financing and construct-leaseback transactions to build schools. The study involved reviews of existing literature, interviews with professionals familiar with alternative development strategies, and the construction of a financial model comparing hypothetical lease purchase and construct-leaseback scenarios. 45p.

This bill authorizes North Carolina's local boards of education to enter into capital leases of real or personal property for use as school facilities. A capital lease entered into under this section may provide that the private developer is responsible for providing, or contracting for, construction, repair, or renovation work. The bill was signed into law on July 19, 2006.

Provides guidance for submission and completion of projects under Virginia's Public-Private Educationl Facilities and Infrastructure Act.The intent of this statute is to provide a vehicle for Virginia's state and local agencies to create public-private partnerships to meet a wide range of infrastructure needs, including such as construction and renovation of elementary and secondary schools, as well as higher education facilities. The Virginia Act is structured to reduce the time and money spent by the submission of projects to extended boards of review, encourage entrepreneurial activity on the part of the private sector, tailor a project to the particular needs of the user, and encourage the innovative use of tax-exempt and taxable project financing. 31p.

Provides descriptive information on each of the four central components of Maine's school facilities program: major capital school construction, school revolving renovation program, leased space program, and facilities maintenance and capital asset management program. Each program description is accompanied by historical data reflecting funding and work priorities. 37p.

Describes seven types of public/private partnerships used for school construction, provides examples of where they have been implemented, and lists pros and cons of these partnerships. Includes nine references. 7p.

Briefly describes tax-exempt lease/purchase agreements as a means to finance improvements in school facility energy consumption. 1p.

This provides definitions, describes how the Missouri school building revolving fund will be created; eligibility for lease purchases for projects; ranking of projects; when a plan may be waived; when repayment is required; failure to make annual payments; state to take possession of buildings; and procedures.

Position paper in support of public-private partnerships, outlining recommendations, background, trends, advantages, and case studies. Discusses municipal/capital leases and operating leases. 4p.

Defines "public-public partnership" as a contractual agreement between a school district and another governmental agency, political subdivision, or institution of higher education to meet a clearly defined need for facilities, infrastructure, or goods and services. Authorizes any school district to use public-public partnerships as a project delivery method for the building, altering, repairing, improving, maintaining, or demolishing of any structure, or any improvement to real property owned by the school district. 2p.

This unique project brought together three partners – a school, a nonprofit community agency, and a city housing authority. Located on land within West Lawn housing complex owned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Browning School and Silver Spring Neighborhood Center share a facility. Sections of the building are owned and operated by Milwaukee Public Schools, while other areas are leased by the City of Milwaukee Housing Authority to Silver Spring Neighborhood Center.

Presents research that addresses the wariness that lenders and landlords often have concerning charter schools as clients. One commonly cited survey appears to show that nearly one in ten charter schools has "closed." However, the schools thus counted include many that just changed organizational structure, and continued to occupy and pay on their buildings. Even when buildings are prematurely vacated, 95% are able to be leased or sold on terms no less favorable to the lender or landlord. Charter schools started in conjunction with Education Management Organizations (EMOs) were found to have almost negligible failure rates. Also, charter schools with more students are less risky than average, as are those started one year or more after the home state passes a charter law. Finally, and ironically, the inability to find adequate buildings is itself a key contributor to charter school failures. 10p.

Describes a community ownership non-profit lease model for purchasing and renovating an existing building for a 400-student school. This paper by the project manager, parent co-director, and architect illustrates the collaborative approach to community development, and suggests lessons for community facilities in other settings. It describes organizing the school, searching for a site and funding, transforming the building, and lessons learned. 8p.

This report outlines innovative ways school districts are meeting their facilities needs outside the traditional sources of facilities financing. Non-traditional funding strategies include private development of public school buildings, partnerships with employer-based schools, direct borrowing on the private market, and sale or lease of existing school facilities. Cost-saving solutions include space-sharing with community agencies or with higher education, and educating outside the school building using community resources or distance learning. New institutional solutions include establishing real estate trusts and intermediaries. Included are specific examples of how districts are implementing these strategies, and a list of additional readings on these topics. 16p.

"This bill establishes the Maryland Public Education Facilities Act to: 1) encourage the use of alternative financing mechanisms, private capital, and other funding sources for the construction and improvement of public school facilities; 2) accelerate and improve the financing for qualified education facilities; and 3) provide public and private entities with the greatest possible flexibility in contracting with others." Includes descriptions of the provisions concerning issuance of tax-exempt municipal bonds, procurement methods, use of surplus land, and model procedures and recommendations. 6p.

Presents an outline of alternative school funding, including a description, pros, and cons for each. The methods described are impact fees, excise taxes, sales taxes, proffers, grants and donations, lease/purchase arrangements, performance-based contracting, public-private partnership, commercial development schools. Also included are descriptions, pros, and cons of the five project delivery methods: Construction Management, Construction Management At-risk, Design-Build, Job-Order Contracting, and Finance-Design-Build. 10p.

This is based upon California's Education Code Section 17250.10-17250.50 and Education Code Section 17406 and describes the lease-leaseback design build approach. Covered are site lease, facilities leases, construction provisions, guaranteed maximum sum, bonding insurance, and dispute resolution. 11p.

This discusses several innovative ways to fund school construction using public-private partnerships, including municipal/capital lease plans, operating lease plans, a service contract structure, and a satellite concept. This is section of the "School Director's Handbook" which addresses a range of issues of interest to school directors, teachers, and parents and are intended to promote discussion about educational alternatives. 6p.

Qualified Public Education Facility Bonds (QPEFs) are a potential funding mechanism for both charters and public schools. QPEFs are a type of exempt facility bond created under section 422 of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. QPEFs allows state or federal agencies to enter into a public-private partnership with a for-profit organization, under which the for-profit agrees to construct, rehabilitate, refurbish or equip a public school facility. The bond proceeds are loaned to a private, for-profit corporation (developer) who owns the school facility and leases it to a public school. At the end of the lease term, ownership of the school facility is transferred to the public school for no additional consideration. This information packet includes; 1) IRS technical information on QPEFs; 2) a reprint of the Heritage Foundation report "How Public-Private Partnerships Can Facilitate Public School Construction" by Ronald Utt, and 3) IRS Form 8038, Information Return for Tax-Exempt Private Activity Bond Issues. 30p.

This describes the leasing of school buildings, whereby districts sign contracts with private developers or other entities that own land and/or multipurpose buildings that could be used for schools. Optimally, such leases should be medium to long term, as schools would not want to move very often, and the private property owner would want to assure a return on the investment. In effect, this arrangement is a good example of a public–private partnership.

Describes three non-traditional methods of funding school construction: 1) construction/leaseback, where developers build schools and lease them to the school system, but retain ownership; 2) local incremental sales tax option for schools (LISTOS), where local jurisdictions levy a sales tax, with a portion of the revenue being contributed into a fund for needier jurisdictions which lack the sales base for such a program; 3) innovative partnerships, where systems join with other community or commercial interests to create learning spaces. 8p.

State regulations allow public school districts outside of New York City to apply for Building Aid on leasing costs involving instructional facilities for grades Pre-K through 12 located off school district property. This guide explains how the districts should proceed when applying for Building Aid on leased facilities. Attached is the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, Section 155.12: Lease Approval and Building Aid for Lease School Buildings and Facilities by Schools Districts. (GR) 15

This report describes a provision in a tax bill implemented in June 2001 that allows towns and cities to build public school facilities faster, better, and less expensively by forming public-private partnerships with qualified real estate investors and developers. Private sector investors can fund construction, then lease the facilities to public school systems at annual costs below the costs communities would incur if they built the schools themselves. Benefits of public-private partnerships include more timely school construction, lower costs through competition, and savings through maximum use of school facilities. Communities benefit from off-hour use of school facilities (e.g., for day care services, supplemental education programs run by private organizations, adult education programs, civic events, and religious events). Because the concept of public-private partnerships for school construction and ownership is flexible, various other innovative subcontracting arrangements could be devised to help address a community's educational and service needs (e.g., using the partnership approach to acquire state-of-the-art music facilities, to upgrade cafeteria kitchens, or to improve sports facilities). The report presents experiences with such partnerships in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It describes partnership schools as alternatives to smart growth restrictions. 10p.

Presents a legal perspective on what a shared facility is; describes typical partners in a shared use arrangement; and identifies common locations, anticipated purposes, and funding sources. Also discussed are different organizational structures that can be established, such as joint powers entity, lease, or license; land acquisition and development issues, with matters of conveyencing, zoning, and construction; and other common legal/practical issues or dilemmas. 21p.

Lists the states rules for educational facilities. Seventeen subchapters detail requirements for long-range facilities plans, capital project review, management of capital projects, educational adequacy assessment, planning and construction standards, land acquisition, school closing, land disposal, temporary facilities, capital reserve accounts, lease and lease- purchase agreements, county vocational district rehabilitation, maintenance and operation, retroactive funding, witholding of support for non-compliance, documents, qualifications of a certified educational facilities manager, and the appeals process. 121p.

This answers questions concerning tax-exempt municipal lease financing, including general considerations, parties and purposes, types of financing transactions, legal issues, and market considerations. Includes an index of terms. 45p.

This user guide was developed to assist school districts, step-by-step, through the log on and retrieval of New Construction and Modernization project information for the Lease-Purchase Program. By utilizing this service, school districts can avoid delay when inquiring for standard project standard questions. The Office of Public School Construction published the Project Tracking User Guide to assist you in understanding how to use the Project Tracking System (PTS). It will explain how to access the service, what to enter in the fields, and how to move from screen to screen. The guide includes a survey summary of costs for new schools. 180p.

This updated, two-volume document provides guidance for those involved in the educational facilities procurement process, and includes recent legislative changes affecting the state of Florida's building code. The first volume is organized by the sequence of steps required in the facilities procurement process and presents state requirements for property acquisition/disposal, finance, lease and lease-purchase, historic buildings, program development, professional services, inspection services, and design and inspection standards. The second volume contains Florida's Uniform Building Code. 209p.

Hillsborough County Public School System entered into a lease with First Presbyterian Church to house a K-5th grade elementary school. Hillsborough County Public School System contracted with Easter Seals to provide pre-k instruction and before and after school care at the school. The Downtown Partnership Elementary School is an excellent example of an innovative and creative public-private partnership which addresses some critical issues facing the school district. Reusing an existing facility within walking distance of the downtown employment center has made quality education and increased parental involvement possible.

This manual guides applicants through the process of acquiring and managing California state funds for public school facility construction projects. Section 1 focuses on determining eligibility and preparing application packages for Phase P approval and/or apportionment. Section 2 examines regulations and required forms for selecting school sites, including rules for real property appraisals, site purchasing, and relocation assistance. Section 3 focuses on preparing the Estimated Project Cost Detail, Form SAB 506A; and the Summary of Estimated Costs, Form SAB 506B. Section 4 explains the meaning and components of a non-DSA approved construction plan. Section 5 covers the final design and specifications review and approval process. Section 6 explains the bid authorization process. Section 7 addresses the "change order" process for any changes or alterations during project construction. Section 8 discusses close-out audit regulations and forms for reporting project expenditures. Appendices contain explanations and qualification guidelines for satisfying specific allocation programs and district needs such as cost sharing, restricted maintenance accounts, hardship status, abandonment and/or rehabilitation policies, and environmental impact documentation. 123p.

New York State school districts wishing to build, add to, or lease additional facilities have administrative forms to use as supplied by the state's Department of Education, Office of Facilities Planning. This document is a collection of Letters of Intent forms in the following categories: New Building, Addition, and Reconstruction Form; Leased Space or Discovered Building Form (and Individual Project Information Form); Manufactured Building (Relocatable/Portable) Form; and District-Wide Forms (for the same but multiple projects conducted in several districts and connects the buildings in some way). 7p.

This overview examines California's various State Allocation Board's funding programs for the construction, modernization, and maintenance of local school facilities. Funding information is provided for each program as are explanations of the school facility program construction process and the lease purchase program. The organizational chart for the Office of Public School Construction concludes the document. 7p.

A Planner's Guide describes statutory financing options available to California communities. Its primary purpose is to provide city and county planners with a general discussion of methods of public works financing that do not rely on state funds. Chapter 5 discusses new school facilities; chapter 6 covers leasing; chapter 7 describes other methods such as general obligation bonds, joint powers agreements, and pooled financing.

The authors, after discussing the St. Louis school system and its financial history, survey both traditional and innovative construction finance alternatives used across the country. The authors summarize the potential transactions between two groups: (1) a school board, the city, the State, and the Federal Government; and (2) public corporations, private developers, and money sources. The authors conclude that lease-purchasing plans suggest the most promising solutions to St. Louis' educational facilities needs. 76p.

Profiles this multi-building campus funded by a lease-back arrangement between the developer and the local school district. Building statistics, a list of the project participants, cost details, a floor plan, and photographs are included.

Suggests a process for estimating the costs of building a new LEED-certified schools, beginning with client goals and continuing through the design and construction process. Maintaining alignment between client budget and goals is emphasized.

This article considers how the private finance initiative, a contract for infrastructure, affected teachers' perceptions of efficacy, job satisfaction, and morale at an urban secondary school in the United Kingdom. Qualitative data collection techniques, including unstructured observation and semistructured personal interviews, were utilized to determine teachers' perceptions. The findings indicate that two facets of the initiative were problematic for educational programming: the private corporation's control over construction design and its subsequent control over facility management. Implications of this research for lease-purchase agreements in the United States are discussed.

Discusses capital lease financing of schools, highlighting systemic problems with traditional school project delivery methods, best practices of public-private partnerships, and citing North Carolina's recent legislative movements that enable and regulate capital lease financing for schools.

School districts in fast-growing communities are having a hard time keeping up with the demand, so some districts are studying public-private partnerships — hiring businesses to build or lease them school buildings.

North Carolina lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a change in state law that gives overcrowded school systems a new way to pay for schools. Called lease-purchase or leaseback, it allows school boards to hire private developers to build schools. The districts then lease the buildings and buy them after a set period. Backers say it would get schools built more quickly and less expensively. It also wouldn't require a public vote.

Recognizing that drafty classrooms and crumbling ceilings don’t exactly inspire students to learn, school districts are constantly looking to upgrade or construct new facilities. But inadequate funding options and a complex construction process often leave district officials’ hands tied and therefore unable to do much better. A groundbreaking way of building schools could change all that. Known as the lease-leaseback method, the private-public partnerships bring school districts and developers together in a cooperative agreement that turns typical school construction on its head.

To control skyrocketing construction costs, the California's Vista school district will use a rent-to-own strategy to build two magnet high schools at a cost of $79 million. Vista Unified joined the growing ranks of districts pursuing creative ways of financing projects while bond money keeps coming up short.

Describes a business approach to management of a higher education institution's real estate holdings, with quantified goals for return that accommodate sale, leasing, and joint ventures.

Describes, with examples, public-private partnerships to build new schools in rapidly developing areas, particularly where the developer spends impact fees to build the school themselves. This also describes the lease/purchase approach taken by the The Houston Independent School District.

Charter schools have proven an effective tool for urban economic development by reviving communities, providing services, and renovating older buildings. Because charter schools are not provided with a building, they are purchasing or leasing vacant, dilapidated properties and renovating them into spectacular new schools and community centers. Includes several case studies in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Newark.

While still in the early stages, public-private partnerships increasingly are providing a viable alternative to address the need for extensive renovation and development of public school facilities. This discusses the Natomas Unified School District in California use of a build-lease agreement, and the partnership with Honeywell to build a new school in Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Discusses the public-private financing partnership for funding the new Inderkum High School in Natomas, California, in which the school district and a private developer entered into a “lease-leaseback agreement”. The school is part of the town center that includes a community college, joint-use public library, public park and swimming pool.

Describes how the superintendent of Natomas Unified School District in Sacramento, California, along with three other educators and local government officials, teamed to create a joint-use campus that includes a community college, public library, and regional park. Taxpayer dollars are further stretched with the use of a "privately financed leased facilities" arrangement.

Discusses schools' evolving relationships with private industry and local government entities, which are providing mutually beneficial results. Examples include the community services located in West Virginia schools and the workforce development efforts of Intel in New Mexico schools.

Discusses public-private partnerships in university construction, including Virginia's Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002, and tax-exempt leasing.

This article uses Texas as an example of the distinction between lease purchase revenue (LPR) bonds and general obligation (GO) bonds. The study shows that LPR bonds typically have a higher interest cost than GO bonds and do not have advantages over GO bonds in circumventing state restrictions on school district tax and debt authority. Voter approval requirements implicit in the state aid formulae supporting school bond repayments and the bond election requirements, however, are less stringent for LPR than GO bonds, and thus tend to be used by schools in property-poor districts.

This article answers the following questions about leasing modular classrooms: 1)What is a tax-exempt lease?; 2)Who is and is not eligible?; 3) How cumbersome are municipal documents? 4) Who is responsible for maintenance, property taxes, insurance, and other operating expenses? 5) Why would I enter into a tax-exempt lease? 6) Should the dealer/manufacturer act as the lessor in the lease? How does this affect the lessee? 7) Can they finance modular equipment/furniture? 8) Who owns the equipment?"

Examines the use of the lease purchase of school facilities in Texas; provides background on the use of lease purchases by Texas school districts; describes factors influencing the use of lease purchases and superintendents' experiences based on survey responses from 50 school districts; recommends careful evaluation of advantages and disadvantages before using this financing option.

A shortage of capital and appropriate education facilities prompted the Edmonton (Alberta) Public Schools to explore creative solutions such as leasing retrofitted facilities to house new academic programs. Landlords generally like school districts, considering them reliable, long-term tenants for hard-to-rent larger buildings.

Discusses the alternative funding avenues school districts have used to support facility construction and improvements when tax levies and state aid are not enough. Acquiring donations, creating lease- purchase agreements, and using tax increment financing are highlighted.

In an attempt to acquire electronic equipment and make it more affordable, schools are investigating leasing programs. This discusses the use of leasing programs as an equipment-acquisition tool. Why leasing is a viable option and the different types of leasing plans are discussed.

One page discussion of methods that can be used alone or in combination to fund school facilities: lease or lease-purchase plans; establishing business/community partnerships; imposing school impact fees; making bond issues more attractive to voters.

Using existing and new facilities more efficiently could accommodate increased student enrollment while producing significant savings in capital and operating costs. Ontario's Ministry of Education has identified 10 ways to increase facilities utilization, including innovative scheduling, year- round schooling, varied attendance plans, offsite learning, portables, and enlarged classes. A New York study recommends leased facilities and public-private partnerships.

Privatization is being used to help fund the building of a single, $60 million structure to replace 2 high schools in Niagara Falls, New York. The plan involves selling the 2 schools and $15 million in property to developers that will then build the new school and lease it to the city for 30 years at no cost to local taxpayers. The school and other facilities will be developed as a design-build, turnkey project with a guaranteed maximum price.

Modular leasing is an alternative for school facility planning.

Lease-purchase finance is a viable alternative for school districts that cannot or do not want to employ traditional financing techniques. Outlines the advantages and disadvantages of lease-purchase financing compared to outright purchase; operating leasing, which is taxable; and traditional tax-exempt bond financing.

Difficulty passing referenda to authorize school bonds necessary for important school capital purposes prompted New Jersey to enact legislation to authorize a school district to acquire a site and school building by lease purchase agreement. Advantages, disadvantages, and voter attitude are discussed.

Discusses lease purchase financing of capital construction as introduced in Florida and cites six benefits as follows: no public referendum, no increase in local tax, tax exempt bonds, design build construction, and depreciation. Also discussed is the option of a district leasing air space to assist in mitigating excessive land costs in major metropolitan locations. Lease purchase financing and the lease and sale of air space have tremendous applicability for the public sector financing of capital construction. It is suggested that qualified professional services be solicited to protect the interests of the local school board or municipality considering these approaches to capital financing.

The AGL&F is a non-profit association of companies engaged in municipal leasing activities. It provides education about tax-exempt leasing and financing. The AGL&F publishes national surveys on federal and municipal governmental leasing, and federal tax law affecting governmental leasing, including analysis of tax-exempt lease-purchase agreements, certificated leases, true leases arbitrage rebate, and management contracts.

The Michigan Public Educational Facilities Authority is dedicated to providing opportunities for low cost financing and technical assistance for qualified public educational facilities and public school academies through its bonding and loan programs. The website includes information on PSA Long-Term Financing and the Qualified Public Educational Facilities Program.

The NASB Leasing Corporation is a Nebraska not-for-profit corporation organized for the exclusive purpose of acquiring real or personal property and making that property available to Nebraska school districts (or entities or agencies acting on behalf of school districts) for use in exercise of their essential functions.

This bond program facilitates the issuance of over $99 million per year of tax-exempt bonds that can be used to construct, rehabilitate, refurbish or equip a public school facility. The bond proceeds are loaned to a private, for-profit corporation (developer) who owns the school facility and leases it to a public school. A public-private partnership agreement needs to be entered into between the developer and the public school. The public school leases the school facility from the developer and at the end of the lease term, the school facility is transferred to the public school for no additional consideration. The website includes information on the bond program, frequently asked questions, the program process, etc.

The Bond Buyer is the authoritative daily source dedicated to the municipal bond market. In addition to a daily newspaper, there is an online service, archive, yearbook, and directory for contact information. The Bond Buyer is useful for tracking information on bond activity connected to school construction and renovation.

NCEF's resource list of links, books, and journal articles on financing school construction and renovation through partnerships between schools and the private sector, community organizations, public agencies, and school districts.

NCEF's resource list of links, books, and journal articles on funding methods for public school construction and modernization.