Specifications include, but are not limited to: A. The Contractor shall sponsor, administer, and manage the Charter School Revolving Loan Fund program. B. The Contractor shall have the ability to raise external capital through borrowing of money, through donations, etc. to support the Revolving Loan Fund Program. C. The Contractor shall provide additional capital to leverage ADE-DESE’s initial grant investment. D. The Contractor shall administer the program, including structuring loans, underwriting charter school obligors, servicing loans, monitoring loan performance, and remediating defaults. E. The Contractor shall establish eligibility criteria for prospective charter school obligors. F. The Contractor shall provide ADE-DESE with information concerning program developments through the submission of annual performance reports. G. The Contractor shall have knowledge of State of Arkansas procurement rules and applicable statutes. H. The Contractor shall develop the rules and regulations regarding the implementation and administration of the revolving loan program. I. The Contractor shall establish the application process for Charter Schools to request funding for certain capital improvements. J. The Contractor shall develop the application and review process for Charter Schools for these funds as outlined in Act 237 of 2023. K. The Contractor shall establish a criteria and process to accept, review, and make determinations on applications received from Charter Schools. L. The Contractor shall recommend to the Arkansas Department of Education how to allocate the appropriate funding levels for each applicant Charter School. M. The Contractor shall review plans and specifications to ensure that the requests recommended for funding meet any/all required construction codes and guidelines to be deemed as critical infrastructure improvements as listed in the legislation. N. The Contractor shall establish, recommend, and maintain basic financial records that will detail the amount of any funding to be awarded to the various Charter Schools, track the repayment schedules and/or provide documentation that the financial obligations have or have not been met by the Charter Schools. O. The Contractor shall recommend and establish all other matters that the Arkansas Department of Education determines are necessary to establish and maintain the Charter School Revolving Loan Fund Program as an accessible and perpetual source of funding for making facility improvements at all levels of education in the state as established by Act 237 of 2023...
