Charter School Feasibility Study in Georgia

A school class with a narrow lender pool

Georgia school lending is more about buildings than operations, and the cell has a built-in limit. The code lumps charter schools in with private ones, and most charters are nonprofits, a category SBA does not lend to. The cell therefore shows mostly private operators and a few for-profit charter vehicles. Georgia ranks 5 of 50 for the class, the 1.49x location quotient shows schools weighing more than the country's mix would predict, and a $641,500 median loan lands at 0.94x the national figure. The class sits at 22 of 39 among Georgia asset types, with 40 approvals totaling $46.6 million over FY2017 to FY2026.

Programs, lenders and counties

Half of the loans run from $373,000 to $1.3 million. The 7(a) program supplied 30 loans and 504 supplied 10, so a quarter of the lending finances real estate. Franchise affiliation is 12.5%. Only The Huntington National Bank reaches the listing bar, with 5 loans and $7.4 million, a large average. DeKalb and Fulton counties each hold 7 loans, Cobb and Gwinnett counties 4 each and Forsyth County 3, which maps the metro Atlanta ring. FY2024 was the largest year, with 10 loans and $13.6 million, and FY2025 added 7 loans and $12.3 million.

This class has one of the highest cancellation records in the group. Cancellation swallowed at least 21.9% of Georgia's earlier approvals, and the share climbs to 25.0% should loans not yet disbursed also fall through. A school depends on enrollment, authorization and a facility, and approved projects often fall away when one of those does not arrive. A charge-off rate is absent for lack of enough early funded loans, and a blank carries no assurance.

Testing a Georgia school project

The analysis should begin with authorization and enrollment: what approval the school holds or needs, how many students are committed, and the tuition or per-pupil funding that follows them. Facility cost is the next test, since a building, a conversion or leasehold work is the main use of funds, and it should be compared with a typical loan near $641,500. Staffing, curriculum and accreditation costs belong in the operating plan. Coverage of the loan payment must hold at enrollment below target, because the high cancellation record shows how often plans change before closing. The appraisal for a school building depends on alternative use, so the study should say what the property could become.