2013 GUIDANCE ON CHARTER SCHOOL AUTHORIZER FEES
How is a charter school authorizer fee determined?
Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.10, Subdivision 15 Review and comment. (a) The authorizer shall provide a formal written evaluation of the school's performance before the authorizer renews the charter contract. The department must review and comment on the authorizer's evaluation process at the time the authorizer submits its application for approval and each time the authorizer undergoes its five-year review under Subdivision 3, paragraph (e). (b) An authorizer shall monitor and evaluate the fiscal, operational, and student performance of the school, and may for this purpose annually assess a charter school a fee according to paragraph (c). The agreed-upon fee structure must be stated in the charter school contract. (c) The fee that each charter school pays to an authorizer each year is the greater of:
(1) the basic formula allowance for that year ($5,224) (bold language added for FY 2013); or
(2) the lesser of:
(i) the maximum fee factor times the basic formula allowance for that year (4 x $5,224=$20,896) (bold language added for FY 2013); or
(ii) the fee factor (0.015) times the basic formula allowance for that year (0.015 x $5,224=$78.36) times the charter school's adjusted marginal cost pupil units (AMCPU) for that year (see directions below for determining the AMCPU). The fee factor equals .005 in fiscal year 2010, .01 in fiscal year 2011, .013 in fiscal year 2012, and .015 in fiscal years 2013 and later. The maximum fee factor equals 1.5 in fiscal year 2010, 2.0 in fiscal year 2011, 3.0 in fiscal year 2012, and 4.0 in fiscal years 2013 and later (bold language added and language lightened if outdated for FY 2013).
What are adjusted marginal cost pupil units (AMCPU)?
Pupil units are average daily membership weighted by grade level (e.g. 1.25 for Early Childhood Special Education, 1 for handicapped kindergarten, 0.612 for kindergarten, 1.115 for first through third grade, 1.06 for fourth through 6th grade and 1.3 for grades 6 through 12).
Adjusted means adjusted for students open-enrolling in or out of a school/district.
Marginal Cost means the greater of current year pupil units or 23% of the prior year plus 77% of the current year.
School districts and charter schools report to MDE, either as estimates or actuals, average daily membership. MDE then manages systems that weight the average daily membership for the current year, and also for 23% of prior year + 77% of current year, compares the two results, and aid calculation systems using AMCPUs access the greater of the two.
How does an authorizer calculate the authorizer fee for the current school year?
• Since AMCPU is based on current enrollment at the school, pulling data on January 15 would give authorizers fairly accurate data. Fall numbers are estimates.
• To determine AMCPU, visit MDE's Data Reports and Analytics webpage. Under School Finance Reports, choose Minnesota Funding Reports (MFR). Under District, select the school name. Under View Reports, select “All Reports”. Under Category, choose “Student”. Under Year, choose the school year for which you are billing. Then, go to Student Marginal Pupil Unit Calculation and click on the file that appears.
• A second way to find this information is to visit MDE's Data Reports and Analytics webpage, go to School Finance Reports, then Minnesota Funding Reports (MFR), and then choose the General Education report, which has the calculation of AMCPU on the first page.
• Authorizers will need to determine whether they will be charging a set fee (within the allowable rate), charge for actual services (within the allowable rate), or charge the maximum allowable, which may or may not cover all authorizer costs.
• The agreed-upon fee structure must be stated within the chartering contract.
FY 2013 Authorizer Fee Quick Reference Guide
• If a charter school is approved and in development, the authorizer fee will be $5,224.00.
• If a charter school’s AMCPU is less than 67, the basic formula allowance for the year applies, which is $5,224.00.
• If a charter school’s AMCPU is between 67 and 266, the fee factor (.015) x the basic formula allowance ($5,224) x AMCPU applies = amounts will vary.
• If a charter school’s AMCPU is equal to or more than 267, the maximum fee factor (4) x the basic formula allowance ($5,224) applies, which equals $20,896.00.
