| (B) The charter holder must demonstrate that issuing
the refunding bond(s) will result in a present value savings to the
charter holder. Present value savings is determined by computing the
net present value of the difference between each scheduled payment
on the original bonds and each scheduled payment on the refunding
bonds. Present value savings must be computed at the true interest
cost of the refunding bonds. If the commissioner approves refunding
bonds for the guarantee based on evidence of present value savings
but at the time of the sale of the refunding bonds a present value
savings is not realized, the commissioner may revoke the approval
of the bonds for the guarantee.
(C) For issues that refund bonds previously guaranteed
by the BGP, the charter holder must demonstrate that the refunding
bond or bonds will not have a maturity date later than the final maturity
date of the bonds being refunded.
(D) The refunding transaction must comply with the
provisions of subsection (f)(5)(A)-(C) and (E) of this section.
(3) If an open-enrollment charter holder files an application
for a combination issue, the application will be treated as an application
for a single issue for the purposes of eligibility for the guarantee.
A guarantee for the combination issue will be awarded only if both
the new money portion and the refunding portion meet all of the applicable
eligibility requirements described in this section. As part of its
application, the charter holder making the application must present
data that demonstrate compliance for both the new money portion of
the issue and the refunding portion of the issue.
(4) If the commissioner determines that an applicant
has deliberately misrepresented information related to a bond issue
to secure a guarantee, the commissioner must revoke the approval of
the bonds for the guarantee.
(d) Determination of Permanent School Fund (PSF) capacity
to guarantee bonds for charter districts.
(1) Each month the commissioner will estimate the available
capacity of the PSF to guarantee bonds for charter districts. This
capacity is determined by multiplying the net capacity determined
under §33.6 of this title (relating to Bond Guarantee Program
for School Districts) by the percentage of the number of students
enrolled in open-enrollment charter schools in this state compared
to the total number of students enrolled in all public schools in
this state, as determined by the commissioner. The commissioner's
determination of the number of students enrolled in open-enrollment
charter schools in this state and the number of students enrolled
in all public schools in this state is based on the enrollment data
submitted by school districts and charter schools to the Public Education
Information Management System (PEIMS) during the most recent fall
PEIMS submission. Annually, the commissioner will post the applicable
student enrollment numbers and the percentage of students enrolled
in open-enrollment charter schools on the Texas Education Agency (TEA)
web page related to the BGP. The commissioner shall hold the percentage
established by the State Board of Education (SBOE) under §33.6(e)(2)
of this title of the charter school available capacity in reserve
each month.
(2) Up to half of the total capacity of the PSF to
guarantee bonds for charter districts may be used to guarantee charter
district refunding bonds.
(e) Application process and application processing.
An open-enrollment charter holder must apply to the commissioner for
the guarantee of eligible bonds by submitting an application electronically
through the website of the MAC of Texas or its successor. Before an
application for the guarantee will be considered, a charter holder
must first be determined by the commissioner to meet criteria for
designation as a charter district for purposes of this section. The
application submitted through the website of the MAC of Texas or its
successor will serve as both a charter holder's application for designation
as a charter district and its application for the guarantee.
(1) Application submission and fee. As part of its
application, an open-enrollment charter holder must submit the information
required under TEC, §45.055(b), and this section and any additional
information the commissioner may require. The application and all
additional information required by the commissioner must be received
before the application will be processed. The open-enrollment charter
holder may not submit an application for a guarantee before the governing
body of the charter holder adopts a board resolution as defined in
subsection (b)(4) of this section.
(A) The amount of the application fee is the amount
specified in §33.6 of this title.
(B) The fee is due at the time the application for
charter district designation and the guarantee is submitted. An application
will not be processed until the fee has been remitted according to
the directions provided on the website of the MAC of Texas or its
successor and received by TEA.
(C) The fee will not be refunded to an applicant that:
(i) is designated a charter district but is not approved
for the guarantee; or
(ii) receives approval for the guarantee but does not
sell its bonds before the expiration of its approval for the guarantee.
(D) The fee may be transferred to a subsequent application
for the guarantee by a charter district that has been approved for
the guarantee if the charter district withdraws its application and
submits the subsequent application before the expiration of its approval
for the guarantee.
(2) Eligibility to be designated a charter district.
(A) To be designated a charter district and have its
application for the guarantee considered by the commissioner, an open-enrollment
charter holder must:
(i) have operated at least one open-enrollment charter
school in the state of Texas for at least three years and have had
students enrolled in the school for those three years;
(ii) identify in its application for which open-enrollment
charter school and, if applicable, for which open-enrollment charter
school campus the bond funds will be used;
(iii) in its application, agree that the bonded indebtedness
for which the guarantee is sought will be undertaken as an obligation
of all entities under common control of the open-enrollment charter
holder and agree that all such entities will be liable for the obligation
if the open-enrollment charter holder defaults on the bonded indebtedness,
provided that an entity that does not operate a charter school in
Texas is subject to this subparagraph only to the extent that it has
received state funds from the open-enrollment charter holder;
(iv) not have an unresolved corrective action that
is more than one year old, unless the open-enrollment charter holder
has taken appropriate steps, as determined by the commissioner, to
begin resolving the action;
(v) have had, for the past three years, an audit as
required by §100.1047 of this title (relating to Accounting for
State and Federal Funds) that was completed with unqualified or unmodified
opinions;
(vi) have received an investment grade credit rating
from a nationally recognized investment rating firm as defined in
subsection (b)(16) of this section as specified by TEC, §45.0541,
within the last year; and
(vii) not have materially violated a covenant relating
to debt obligation in the immediately preceding three years.
(B) For an open-enrollment charter holder to be designated
a charter district and have its application for the guarantee considered
by the commissioner, each open-enrollment charter school operated
under the charter must not have an accreditation rating of Not Accredited-Revoked
and must have a rating of met standard or met alternative standard
as its most recent state academic accountability rating. However,
if an open-enrollment charter school operated under the charter is
not yet rated because the school is in its first year of operation,
that fact will not impact the charter holder's eligibility to be designated
a charter district and apply for the guarantee.
(3) Application processing. All applications received
during a calendar month that were submitted by open-enrollment charter
holders determined to meet the criteria in paragraph (2) of this subsection
will be held until the 15th business day of the subsequent month.
On the 15th business day of each month, the commissioner will announce
the results of the pro rata allocation of available capacity, if pro
rata allocation is necessary, and process applications for initial
approval for the guarantee, up to the available capacity as of the
application deadline, subject to the requirements of this section.
Cont'd... |
