Transaction Details

Riverside Leadership Academy

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Creating Financing Solutions for New North Carolina Charter School

Riverside Leadership Academy, located in New Bern, North Carolina, is a new startup charter school that opened its doors for their first school year in August 2024. The school reached an initial enrollment of +/-480 students in kindergarten through 7th grade for the 2024-2025 school year with the goal of adding a grade each year and ultimately adding 12th grade by the 2029-2030 school year, totaling 830 students. Their mission states: through project based and leadership curriculums, the Charter School develops confident, community-focused, future ready leaders. Students thrive from meaningful connections between families, school staff, and community members curated by involvement of all stakeholders.

Riverside Leadership Academy needed to finance the costs of acquiring approximately 58 acres of land, improvements to allow for the installation of leased modular buildings, and constructing a permanent educational facility located in New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina. The facilities will accommodate the kindergarten through 8th grade students and administrative offices needed for long term operations. Construction plans included an approximately 41,100 square foot building and installation of several semi-permanent leased modular buildings. Additionally, the Riverside Leadership Academy Series 2024 Bond financing funded a debt service reserve fund, capitalized interest, and working capital (to assist in establishing healthy liquidity), furniture, fixtures, and equipment, along with the cost of issuing the bonds.

Baird’s National Charter School Finance team served as sole managing underwriter on the $18,290,000 non-rated 35-year fixed rate financing for Riverside Leadership Academy, securing a True Interest Cost (TIC) of 7.65%, with the ability to refinance as soon as 2026.