Charter schools: loans.

Existing law authorizes a county superintendent of schools, with the approval of the county board of education, to temporarily transfer moneys to a school district under specified circumstances. The Charter Schools Act of 1992 authorizes any one or more persons to submit a petition to the governing board of a school district to establish a charter school that operates independently from the existing school district structure as a method of accomplishing specified goals. This bill would authorize a county board of education to loan moneys to a charter school for which the county board of education or the county superintendent of schools has a supervisory responsibility or, regardless of whether the charter school is within or outside of the county, with which a county board of education or county superintendent of schools has a contractual relationship. The bill would require the county superintendent of schools, before making the loan, to advise the chartering authority of the charter school and the county office of education in which the charter school is located that the charter school is requesting the loan and to allow for their input regarding the advisability of making the loan, and would require the county superintendent of schools to solicit a recommendation from bond counsel about the advisability of making the loan. The bill would provide that any loan of moneys pursuant to these provisions would not constitute a debt or liability for the county superintendent of schools, the county board of education, or the State of California. The bill also would make technical and conforming changes.