About Charters - Utah Charter Access Point

Utah State Charter School Board

About UTAH CHARTERS

Charter schools are tuition-free public schools open to any Utah student.

A public school is defined as a school that is open to the public, funded by the public, and accountable to the public. Charter schools meet all three criteria.

Charter schools are governed by independent boards and held accountable to a legally binding written contractual agreement with their authorizer.

It is this charter agreement that allows for the operation of the charter school.

Charter schools offer parents and students additional choices about where students attend school and the school's curricular emphasis.

Charter schools allow educators freedom to try new strategies to inspire students and to experiment with innovative ways of educating students.

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LEGISLATION AND REGULATION

As public schools, Utah Charter Schools must comply with all federal and state legislation and federal regulations. Charter schools are also responsible to comply with all State Board rules except those specifically waived in their charter.

Art work completed by a Utah Charter student - Apples with book

132 Utah charter schools authorized by SCSB in operation making the SCSB one of the largest authorizers in the nation!

students enrolled in Utah charter schools. That is --- of Utah public students.

4,855 full time employees (FTE), including teachers, administrators, specialists, counselors, supervisors and student support services in charter schools in school year 2022. That is 12.6% of Utah's educational FTEs.

UTAH CHARTER SCHOOLS

Art work completed by Adam Westwood - Subaru

Art work completed by Daniel Radu - castle

Art work completed by Utah Charter students

Radu, Phillip. Apple still life. 2023, acrylic painting. Winter Sports School, Utah.

Westwood, Adam Jeremiah. 2023, vector art piece using Scratch. Utah Virtual Academy, Utah.

Radu, Daniel Marcel. 2023. Winter Sports School, Utah.

2023. Collage of art pieces created by students of Charter schools, Utah.

ASSOCIATIONS

UAPCS

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Transfer Rate = Number of transfered students / Total students

Definition: The percentage of students who leave the school during the year to go to another private or public school in the state, to go to home school, or who dropped out. Excluded are non-residents, students whose school of record is another school, students who attended the school for less than 10 days, and students in kindergarten.

Data Source: Enrollment and exit data reported to UTREx.

Retention Rate = Students enrolled at end of previous year and still enrolled on October 1st / Students enrolled at end of previous year

Definition: Percentage of students enrolled at year-end who returned to a school within the LEA by October 1st of the following school year.

Data Source: Enrollment and exit data reported to UTREx.

Enrollment Trends = Current year October 1st count / Prior year October 1st count

Definition: A trajectory of October 1st enrollment and Average Daily Membership (ADM) derived from enrollment data reported to UTREx.

Data Source: Enrollment data reported to UTREx.

Definition: A comparison of a school’s end of year ADM to that school year’s October 1 counts. A significantly lower ADM compared to October 1 enrollment may negatively affect funding and could signal problems for a school to retain enrollment levels.

Data Source: Enrollment data reported to UTREx.

Finance Metric Details

Unrestricted Days Cash on Hand = (Cash + Cash Equivalent - Total Funds in Restricted Programs) x 365 / (Total Operating Expenses - Annual Depreciation Expense)

UDCOH ≥ 60 days

OR UDCOH is between 30 and 60 days with a positive increase from previous year

New LEAs: This will not be used in the assessment of LEAs in their first two years of operations.

Does the school have the cash to pay bills?

Definition: How long, in days, the school could meet their operating expenses without receiving new income.

Data Source:
Cash and Cash Equivalents: statement of net position
Cash Equivalent: statement of net position
Total Operating Expenses: statement of activities
Annual Depreciation: notes to financial statements

Total Funds in Restricted Programs are restricted funds that are entered in to reflect the decrease in cash.

Finance Metric Details

Facility Cost = (Operation and Maintenance of Facilities + Lease Payment + Debt Service) / Total Revenue

Debt Service = Annual Principal + Interest

Definition: Total operation and maintenance of facility.

Data Source:
Statement of Revenue, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balance – Governmental Funds.
Notes Section of the Audited Financials.

Finance Metric Details

Debt Service Coverage Ratio = (Change in Net Position + Depreciation + Interest Expense) / (Annual Principal + Interest + Lease Payment)

Is an LEA able to cover its debt obligations?

Definition: The ratio indicates a school's ability to cover its debt obligations in a current year.

Data Source:
AFS of public financial reporting download in October, Government wide

Finance Metric Details

Debt to Asset = Total Liabilities / Total Assets

To what extent does an LEA rely on borrowed funds to finance its operations?

Definition: The amount of liabilities a school owes versus the assets they own.

Data Source: AFS or public financial reporting download in October, Government wide

Finance Metric Details

Current Ratio = Current Assets / Current Liabilities

Does the school have enough assets to meet its financial obligations over the next year?

Definition: Measures the school's ability to pay its obligations over the next 12 months. It shows how quickly short-term assets can be converted into cash to pay short-term liabilities.

Data Source: Statement of net position

Finance Metric Details

Cash Flow = Current year cash balance - last year cash balance

Does the LEA have a positive cash flow year over year?

Definition: The LEA's cash generated over a period of time indicating long-term financial stability.

Data Source: AFS or public financial reporting download in October, General Fund

Finance Metric Details

Total Margin = Change in Net Position/Total Revenue

Change in Net Position = Total Revenue - Total Expenses

3 year aggregated = Sum of 3 years' Change in Net Position/Sum of 3 years' Total Revenue

2 year aggregated = Sum of 2 years' Change in Net Position/Sum of 2 years' Total Revenue

most recent Total Margin > 0% and 3 year aggregated is positive

OR 3 year aggregated > -1.5% and the previous year is positive and most recent year is positive

Is the LEA living within its means?

Definition: Measures an LEA's deficit or surplus out of total revenues (Includes change in temporary restricted net assets)

Data Source: AFS or public financial reporting download in October.

Finance Metric Details

Deficit/Surplus (i.e. Change In Net Position) = Revenue - Expenses

Is the school living within its available resources?

Definition: Measures an LEA's deficit or surplus out of total revenues (Does not include temporary restricted net assets)

Data Source: Statement of Activities.

Enrollment/Finance Metric Details

Enrollment Variance = Current year enrollment/budgeted enrollment

Is the enrollment sufficient to cover expenses?

Definition: Measures an LEA's student enrollment to their budgeted (projected) enrollment.

Data Source: UCAP, OCT 1 student enrollment, projections

Finance Metric Details

Has the LEA defaulted on loan covenant(s) or is it delinquent with debt service payments?

Definition: Checks the LEA's responisibility towards loan covenants and debt service payments.

Data Source: AFS unless schools self reported

Finance Metric Details

Audit Findings: PASSED

Is the LEAs audit satisfactory?

Definition: Auditor finds the financial statements to be accurate and complete, without material weakness, significant deficiency, or other matters.

Data Source: AFS