FGSC Corporate Partner Profile: BOK Financial Securities, Inc. 

Fast Growth School Coalition’s corporate partners are valued partners in our work. Their support of fast growth schools across our state and their support of public education is invaluable. We’re shining a light on the companies and organizations that have stepped up to support the coalition as platinum corporate partners, including BOK Financial Securities, Inc. (BOKFS):

BOK Financial Securities, Inc. (“BOKFS”) is the wholly owned, broker-dealer subsidiary of BOK Financial Corporation, a publicly traded, regional financial services corporation. As a full-service broker-dealer, BOKFS provides investment banking (bond underwriting and financial advisory services) and other capital market services for municipal entities throughout Texas and other strategic states within our regional footprint, with a special emphasis on Texas public school districts. 

In addition to our work as a financial advisor or bond underwriter, many Texas public school districts know BOK Financial Securities as the provider of the State funding template. Better known as “Omar’s Template,” this tool is used by virtually every district to calculate their State funding and special program allotments as well as assist with setting a district’s annual tax rate. We do this as a service for all school districts at no cost.

Given burgeoning student populations, fast-growth school districts find themselves being much more active in the bond markets to meet their need for additional facilities. Moreover, these school districts tend to be in greatest need of bond and financial assistance, with each district facing its own unique set of circumstances. We provide meaningful assistance, advice and guidance to these districts, earning the right to be considered a trusted financial partner.

Fast Growth School Coalition continues to shine a light on our platinum corporate partners with our ongoing profile series. For this edition, we’re learning more about the College Board and its relationship with fast growth schools.

FGSC’s Dr. Greg Smith sat down with Jill Schott, Senior Director of State and District Partnership at the College Board: 

Dr. Smith: What does your company do and how important is it to your business to connect with fast-growth school districts?

Jill Schott, College Board: College Board’s mission is to connect students to success and opportunity. Our K-12 programs include the SAT Suite of Assessments and Advanced Placement. It’s important for us to connect with fast-growth school districts 

Dr. Greg Smith, Executive Director, Fast Growth School Coalition: As part of our Fast Growth School Coalition platinum corporate partner profile series, Dr. Greg Smith asked the team at Huckabee, one of our founding FGSC corporate partners, to share an update on their work in Texas and with fast growth districts. 

Josh Brown, AIA, President, Huckabee shared some background on the work they do all across our state. Here he is in his own words: 

Huckabee has exclusively served Texas public school districts for 54 years. We know Texas school construction, we understand the challenges and opportunities faced by public education, and most importantly, our team is passionate about ensuring the success of all students through our work with our school district partners.

Huckabee is an architectural / engineering firm. We have five offices in Texas plus the only educational research center in the state, Learning Experience Labs, at Baylor University. We offer services that focus on education and create a holistic approach to planning, design, construction, and more. These include: architectural and engineering services, structural engineering, facility assessment, long-range and master planning, community engagement, branding, interior design, furniture coordination, safety and security planning, environmental graphics and wayfinding, cost estimating, jurisdictional review, and construction administration.

As part of our platinum corporate partner profile series, Fast Growth School Coalition’s Dr. Greg Smith recently sat down with Ryan O’Hara, Head of Texas Public Finance with Huntington Capital Markets to talk about Huntington’s work in Texas, its relationship with fast growth districts and their support of our FGSC coalition. 

Texas K-12 financings are a Huntington Capital Markets specialty. Since 2009, HCM has served as underwriter on approximately 220 Texas school district transactions, totaling $10.3 billion in par amount. Our Texas bond underwriting/commitment desk and dedicated professionals, combined with our overall public finance experience and exceptional ability to underwrite and distribute Texas K-12 municipal bonds, makes HCM uniquely qualified to serve as an underwriter for FGSC districts’ bonds.

Dr. Smith: How important is it to your business to connect with fast-growth school districts and what sets HCM apart in your industry?

O’Hara: What distinguishes HCM from our competitors is our in-depth coverage of second- third- and fourth-tier institutional investors throughout the nation, providing access to underserved investors, potentially expanding a district’s investor base and driving down interest cost. This focus incorporating Tier II, III and IV investors distinguishes HCM’s distribution capabilities when compared to our regional and “peer” group competitors and provides our clients access to the broadest range of investors –facilitating our efforts to optimize pricing results, which is a vital part of FGSC districts’ tax rate management efforts.

This month, as part of our Fast Growth School Coalition platinum corporate partner profile series, we’re turning our attention to the work and support of Forecast5 Analytics. 

Forecast5 Analytics, a Frontline Education Company, empowers education leaders to harness the power of their data for more effective decision-making. More than 2,100 public sector clients across the country are using Forecast5 tools to make more strategic, effective decisions related to financial planning and budget management; student performance, learning gap mitigation, and equity; resource placement and boundary evaluation; and other critical considerations—and enabling them to communicate more transparently with their stakeholders.

FGSC’s Dr. Greg Smith asked Jeff Carew, Director of Business Development for Forecast5 Analytics, what he sees as some of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing fast growth districts, as well as the work his organization undertakes in fast growth districts across our state.

Dr. Smith: How important is it for Forecast5 Analytics to stay connected with fast-growth school districts?

Fast Growth School Coalition’s Dr. Greg Smith wants to shine a light on the work and support of our coalition’s platinum corporate partners. He recently sat down with VLK Architects to discuss VLK’s long-running partnership with FGSC and what VLK considers challenges and opportunities facing fast growth districts.

VLK Architects is a full-service architecture, planning, and interior design firm dedicated to public education in Texas. Passionately serving the best interests of school districts and their students, we are proud of our 37-year history of delivering thousands of successful projects to clients around the state.

Here are portions of his conversation with Sloan Harris, CEO and Partner of VLK Architects:

Dr. Smith: What does your company do and how important is it to your business to connect with fast-growth school districts?

Harris: More than ever, Texas’s vigorous growth is driving both prosperity and challenging demands in our communities.

VLK is in lockstep with the priorities of fast-growth districts and with key data experts who assist community leaders to make the best decisions for the future. VLK’s expertise fuses innovative school design strategies with demographic projections, public involvement, operational capacities, and timelines for building. We’ve united an array of experts to craft processes that align curriculum and instruction, long-range facility and bond planning, and participant-based design to deliver tailored solutions that meet the unique needs of every district client. Across the state of Texas, we live where we work, and we are driven to creating the safest and most engaging learning environments that every young learner deserves.

Dr. Smith: Why do you support the Fast Growth School Coalition?

Harris: VLK Architects proudly supports FGSC’s mission to advocate for the advancement of Texas’s fastest growing school districts. We celebrate FGSC’s role in providing vital resources that sustain a compelling and unified voice for districts striving to meet community demand. FGSC’s work builds unity between fast-growth districts and creates opportunities to share knowledge and resources, and to co-create solutions that benefit every school district. VLK Architects endeavors to serve as a critical resource to fast-growth districts committed to delivering an excellent education to every student despite the challenges of significant growth and limited assets.

Dr. Smith: What do you see as the biggest challenges and greatest opportunities facing public education and fast growth schools today? What are some of the content, events, or products and services that may help them navigate Covid, their next bond election, or other aspects of managing the tremendous growth these districts see year in and out?

Harris: In public education, the challenges can be especially difficult for fast-growing districts in Texas. Perennial funding limitations from the state legislature is a profound issue, as is recent legislation affecting ballot language requirements for bond elections.

Encroaching charter schools are a qualified threat to the enrollment and state funding for an increasing number of districts. Other strenuous challenges stem from growing contentions between school boards and the communities they serve.