School Districts

Helping you finance the education of your community's greatest resource.

Whether you’re looking to build a new facility or refinance debt, our experts in K-12 school district financing are ready to deliver innovative financing solutions.

We serve school districts as both a bond underwriter and a financial advisor. In 2008, our team underwrote or was financial advisor on 223 bond issues for school district needs nationwide, providing $4.54 billion in financing. Additionally, we structure short-term borrowing programs that benefit more than 600 school districts each year with more than $1 billion in cash flow financing.

Our school district teams

Meet some of our K-12 education finance professionals

School district experience

Our areas of school district financing include the following:

General obligation bonds

General obligation bonds are the key financing tool that school districts use to build new facilities and make facility improvements. We’ve guided hundreds of school districts through the complex general obligation bond process from start to finish. We’ll help you plan for a bond issue, assess its tax impact, structure the issue and secure the rating.

Capital planning & bond election services

Your school district’s bond issue starts with capital planning. We’ll help you determine the cost of your project, how much your school district can afford and what the impact to taxpayers will be. This requires in-depth knowledge of your state’s property tax system, tax equalization laws and bond issuance statutes.

Next, we’ll use our knowledge of local election laws to structure your bond issue in a way that voters are most likely to accept. We’ll even help you review and design election surveys and campaign materials – because we know how critical it is for your bond issue to pass.

Debt refinancing

School districts with outstanding debt need a partner who can watch the market for money-saving opportunities the moment interest rates change. We actively monitor the outstanding debt of our school district clients to spot opportunities to save money as interest rates conditions allow. We’re equipped to move quickly and lock in these savings and we know how to combine refinancing options with your new bond issues to meet your overall debt objectives.

COPs & general fund obligations

Many states allow their school districts to finance certain projects without voter approval through certificates of participation in a lease (COPs), or other bonds not backed by a general obligation pledge. We have extensive experience with this type of financing, and can help you use it to reach your goals.

Tax & revenue anticipation notes

Many school districts sell tax and revenue anticipation notes (TRANs) to provide cash flow funding between revenues and expenditures. We’re a national leader in TRAN funding. We’ll help you project your cash flow needs and determine whether TRANs make a good fit for your district.

School district bond rating process

We know how to help you attain the highest possible bond rating to reduce the interest costs on your bonds. In fact, a number of former rating analysts are part of our team, delivering additional insight on how to guide you through this important part of the bond issuance process.