IDEA Public Schools (Texas) continues to achieve tremendous academic and financial results despite being the largest and fastest growing CMO in the country. This year was no exception, and in fact was a record financial year for them, achieving milestones in both profitability and liquidity. To finance their next phase of their growth, which includes a new region in Tarrant County (Fort Worth), IDEA issued $165,680,000 in Education Revenue Bonds through the Clifton Higher Education Finance Corporation. This is the second largest charter school bond issue, superseded only by last year’s IDEA financing (which included a refunding component).
The issue was rated AAA by Standard & Poor’s based upon the PSF guarantee under the State of Texas’ Bond Guarantee Program. IDEA carries a BBB+ underlying rating, one of only a very few charter schools and systems to carry such a high rating, and by far the largest to carry such a high rating. It also carries an A – Superior FIRST rating, achieving a 92 out of 100 in 2018. IDEA serves over 40,000 students this school year, and expects to enroll over 50,000 in just a few years.
For the twelfth year in a row (school year 2018), IDEA achieved 100% college acceptance for its graduating class. For the 10th year in a row, IDEA had numerous college preparatory schools ranked among the top performing high schools in the country. Two of IDEA’s senior leaders, founder and CEO Tom Torkelson, and co-founder and President & Superintendent JoAnn Gama, were inducted into the Charter School Hall of Fame. Buck Financial served as Co-Financial advisor on this issue, and is proud to be associated with an organization that makes a difference in the lives of so many underserved families. Congratulations to IDEA and its students and families!