ABSTRACT
Creating a new charter school, or converting an existing public or private school to charter status, is neither easy nor quick, no matter in what state a prospective charter operator is located. Charter-friendly states or districts often go out of their way to help charter schools find facilities and to provide start-up grants; charter-unfriendly states or districts sometimes make it exceedingly difficult for charters to get started, by bringing lawsuits, withholding transportation, or worse. Once established, charter schools are generally considered to be autonomous institutions, with fiscal and legal autonomy. The problems of finding suitable facilities, and obtaining capital funds that can be used to lease, buy, or build space, are consistently ranked as the top challenges facing would-be charter schools. Creating a workable budget for a charter school is, indeed, one of the toughest challenges that a charter school founder or founding coalition faces.
