In early December 2019, IPS Enterprises (IPS) closed the first loan geared towards funding IDEA Public School’s (IDEA) expansion into Florida. IDEA’s mission is to graduate more students to and through college, and to create proof points to show what is possible for low-income students. By doing so, the larger hope is that this competition will improve the traditional public school systems where IDEA operates. As part of this mission, IDEA has expanded and is planning to expand into states other than Texas via IPS, which conducts IDEA’s non-charter activities. With this financing, IPS has begun IDEA’s expansion into Florida.
The $25 million advancing note will fund the construction and renovation of a campus to be leased by IDEA Public Schools Florida, one of several related entities created as part of IDEA’s non-Texas expansion. This yet-to-be-named school will open in Fall 2021 at the intersection of Fowler and Nebraska in Tampa, and the campus will eventually serve grades K-12. Buck Financial Advisors served as financial advisor to IPS on this transaction.
This campus, and other IDEA Florida campuses, will be part of the newly-created Schools of Hope Program in Florida, stemming from an education reform law passed in 2017 by the Florida Legislature. Schools of Hope will give students stuck in chronically failing schools an opportunity to attend a school that will prepare them for college, career and life. The nation’s highest performing charter school networks, with proven track records of serving low-income communities, can apply to Florida State Board of Education to be designated as a Hope Operator. Only three nationally recognized charter school networks have been approved as Florida Hope Operators, including IDEA Public Schools.
The Schools of Hope law provides an expedited process for establishing schools as well as additional regulatory flexibility and autonomy, while still holding the schools accountable for results. As part of this program, the Legislature has already appropriated more than $265 million to support Hope Operators, including $40 million in recurring funds.
Additionally, a subordinate debt program is currently being created to coincide with the Schools of Hope program. IPS has received a preliminary commitment toward the first two Tampa projects from that program to help lower the cost of facilities as IDEA Florida rolls out its grade expansion from start-up to a fully-enrolled campus.
Congratulations to IPS, IDEA, and, more importantly, to the students and families of Tampa and elsewhere in Florida on this important milestone!