Estimate revenues by using expected reimbursement and funding data based on your projected enrollment and contributions. This is the central financial document to which you will refer over and over again as you reassess your projections and create and rework cash flows. The first years of operation, a period of growth, are often possible only because of loans and grants. As a charter school, you will have the freedom to institute creative solutions not available to other public schools. Such solutions include, for example, contracting for services before expanding payroll and using incentive-based compensation plans.
Some costs are less flexible than others.
By manipulating assumptions and plans in operating budgets, you should try to maximize services with respect to these constraints. You can fundraise aggressively, apply for a number of grants, and apply for loans. You should explore all of these options. Debt can be a necessary and beneficial tool for growth, but be aware that if you plan to take out a loan, you must have a very clear concept of its specific uses and terms. The growth of the student body will affect many of the key expenditure variables, and the five-year operating budget must realistically reflect these.