After successfully launching a fund that led to the creation of 50 charter schools, former tennis star Andre Agassi and his partners are aiming to inject another $1 billion into the initiative.
Agassi Ventures and Turner Impact Capital announced on Wednesday the launch of Turner-Agassi Charter Schools Facilities Fund II, which aims to development up to 130 charter schools by 2020.
The fund is aiming to invest up to $1 billion in the effort, in which the fund will take the lead on school site selection, land acquisition, building design and construction. As with the first fund, facilities will be leased to school operators, who can purchase the schools once they reach full occupancy, according to the fund.
The Turner-Agassi II fund will help operators obtain permanent financing using New Market Tax Credits, tax-exempt bond offerings, traditional bank financings, or funding from the U.S. Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
“Nothing opens the doors of opportunity like a great education,” Agassi, the fund’s co-managing partner and CEO of Agassi Ventures, said in a prepared statement. “We are eager to help thousands of additional students to build a pathway to success by achieving in the classroom and beyond.”
Agassi and Bobby Turner, the fund’s co-managing partner and CEO of Turner Impact Capital launched the Turner-Agassi I fund in 2011. It has since spearheaded the development of 50 charter schools serving 22,800 students in cities including Philadelphia, Newark, Detroit, Dallas, Las Vegas and New York City, according to the fund.