Data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms shows that the number of firearms in circulation in the U.S. increased from 216.3 million in 1993, to 236.5 million in 1997. The bureau estimated that 250 million firearms are in the U.S. now. The BJS data show that the drop in gun-related injuries began before the passage of the Brady Act in 1994. The No. 1 financial obstacle for charter schools is their inability to access the same sources of facility funding that traditional public schools use, according to a new report from the General Accounting Office. State charter laws vary, and few of them address facility financing or provide funding for constructing, renovating, purchasing, or leasing buildings for use by charter schools.
Charter schools have a difficult time obtaining loans from commercial lenders.
Charters are considered poor risks because their charters typically last only a few years, they have low cash flows, no credit histories, and they often have administrators with little experience. A good example of exactly what the GAO report found came last week in Cumberland County. The school's revenue from state per-pupil expenditures was not enough to cover the costs of rent, renovation, textbooks, salaries, bus service, and attorneys' fees, The Fayetteville Observer reported. The GAO recommended several ways to help fund charter schools' facility expenses. Those could include tax exempt bonds, tax credits, or a revolving loan pool.