Charter School Feasibility Study in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area

Los Angeles: second nationally for school loans

Los Angeles shows 51 school loans and $69.3 million approved, FY2017 through FY2026. Inside Los Angeles, school ranks 22 of 39 among asset classes, while the area as a whole is 2 of 154 for the class. The location quotient of 1.10x lifts school somewhat above its national weight in Los Angeles. This class includes charter schools, and the area ranks near the top nationally even though the class sits low locally. By county, Los Angeles County, CA 40 and Orange County, CA 11.

A Los Angeles loan at the midpoint is $1.0 million, and the middle half spans $531,000 to $1.6 million. The median is 1.51x the national median for the class. Programs split 28 to 23, 7(a) against 504, across Los Angeles. Loan Analytics withholds the franchise share for Los Angeles, and a blank is not a finding.

A single bank named

U.S. Bank, National Association is the one institution listed, on the 7(a) side. Under 7(a), SBA lists U.S. Bank, National Association with 5 loans worth $7.5 million. The entry lists a count and dollars and says nothing of underwriting.

Of Los Angeles approvals made FY2017 to FY2024, 13.0% or more were cancelled. Loan Analytics withholds the Los Angeles ceiling that adds undisbursed loans and the charge-off rate; a blank is not zero. By year: FY2017, 6 loans and $6.9 million, FY2019, 10 loans and $7.3 million, FY2022, 6 loans and $10.5 million, and FY2024, 9 loans and $16.0 million. Los Angeles years not shown stay withheld. The school code mixes charter and private schools; nonprofit status keeps most charters outside SBA lending, and the record cannot tell the two kinds of school apart. Which loans belong to Los Angeles depends on county names, and unplaced projects go missing.

Los Angeles study: the key tests

A school stands on its approved enrollment and its funding calendar, so the study should lay out seats by grade, the district and charter seats nearby in Los Angeles County and Orange County, and a month-by-month cash plan that follows state payments. Facilities are often the largest line after payroll, which makes the 504 route for buildings worth modeling next to a 7(a) loan for fit-out. Charter terms end and renew, so the file must show how repayment survives a non-renewal. Because few other users want a school building, valuation should address ownership versus lease and the re-use cost.