Behind the Deal: Treasure Valley Classical Academy
Supporting Growth of Charter Schools
Treasure Valley Classical Academy is a tuition-free public charter school in Fruitland, Idaho. The school opened in August 2019 for students K-6 and currently serves students grades K-10, with plans to add one grade each year through grade 12 to become a K-12 school. The mission of Treasure Valley Classical Academy is to train the minds and improve the hearts of students through a classical, content-rich curriculum that emphasizes virtuous living, traditional learning, and civic responsibility.
To support the continued growth of Treasure Valley Classical Academy, the school needed to finance the acquisition of its currently leased 33,058 square feet of school facilities including 18 classrooms, an auditorium with a stage, multi-purpose room with full cooking kitchen, and office space on 1.46 acres of land for the purpose of serving grades K-6. Additionally, they needed to fund a debt service reserve fund, fund a capitalized interest account, and pay certain issuance expenses of the Series 2024A&B Bonds that priced in March.
After the March transaction was complete Treasure Valley Classical Academy decided to finance the acquisition of approximately 16 acres of land and the construction a 37,000 square foot facility for a new middle and high school facility to accommodate 324 students in grades K-7, while also funding a debt service reserve fund, a capitalized interest account, and pay certain issuance expenses of the Series 2024C&D Bonds.
Baird’s National Charter School Finance team served as sole managing underwriter on both transactions for Treasure Valley Classical Academy. Baird’s underwriting desk priced the $8,425,000 Series 2024A&B Bonds (Aa2 State Enhanced, Ba3 under) on March 12 and received strong reception from institutional investors. Baird priced at the tight end of our range (+120) and were roughly 7x oversubscribed on the 4 tax-exempt terms at the end of the order period.
On June 4, we priced the $14,855,000 Series 2024C&D Bonds (Aa2 State Enhanced, Ba3 under). The Aa2 wrap reduced the yield that traditional high yield charter buyers want to see to participate, leaving us with arbitrage/trading buyers. Baird structured the issue with discounts to bring in those specific buyers and finalized with a book of 5-6x oversubscription with participation from 12 different accounts.
