Leland – Charter Day School, (CDS, Inc.) which operates charter schools in the coastal area, announced plans today for major expansions at three of its schools after a privately-financed bond offering was successfully oversubscribed.
“I am excited that we are now able to move forward with these major projects,” announced CDS, Inc. Board Chairman Robert Spencer. Spencer highlighted the importance of the privately-financed bond issue by pointing out that charter schools receive no state or local tax funds for facilities. The projects include the following additions.
South Brunswick Charter School, Southport, NC, expands from grades K-5 to K-8 by adding middle school classroom buildings, a multi-purpose auditorium/gymnasium, and adding more classrooms for exceptional children.
Columbus Charter School, Whiteville, NC, will add a new elementary school office, additional classrooms for exceptional children, and a new, enlarged computer lab.
Charter Day School, Leland, NC, adds a new elementary school office building with a multi-purpose auditorium/gymnasium along with a new exceptional children’s classroom building at the middle school.
“Charter schools are loved by taxpayers because they educate students for less than 75% of what regular district schools receive,” he said. “This means, however, that some facilities must wait until the schools build up enough savings to attract private investors for their construction.” Spencer said this privately-financed bond offering is the culmination of several years of planning and evaluation of financing alternatives by the non-profit’s Board of Trustees.
With a Moody’s credit rating that puts it among the top 10% of all charter schools and a very stable steady growth with outstanding test scores, Spencer said the family of CDS schools, managed by The Roger Bacon Academy (RBA), was able to get a very favorable interest rate as it placed its municipal bond offering into the investment community. Prominent investment banks such as Goldman Sachs were quick to buy into the offering which was oversubscribed. “The favorable terms of this private financing are due to the dedication and hard work of the teachers and staff of our schools,” said Chairman Spencer, “as well as the loyalty, support, and trust shown over the years by our students’ parents.”
“The multi-purpose auditoriums will greatly facilitate a number of our competitive curriculum events such as the FASTAR reading/math races, the History Bowl Tournaments, and Science Olympiad practices, and as well as indoor practice space for PE-related activities such as our championship archery teams and our National Championship Cheer Squads,” said Baker Mitchell, Founder of The Roger Bacon Academy. Mitchell said these popular programs, as well as regular physical education classes would no longer have to contend with last-minute inclement weather rescheduling or renting indoor venues or having to bus students to use the auditorium at our downtown Wilmington school, Douglass Academy. Use of the new facilities would also free up scheduling and additional funds for the downtown school which is still growing into its existing facility.
“Parents will benefit greatly from the new auditoriums for drama productions and student observances such as Kindergarten’s ‘I Can Read’ ceremony, awards for Student of the Month, Exemplary Character Trait, and Accelerated Reader, and the year-end graduation ceremonies,” Mitchell added. He also said site preparation has been underway for a few months, and two years is the projected time for the completion of all construction. To learn more about the schools’ classical curriculum, view a video tour of a school, or to enroll online, please visit www.EnrollRBA.com.