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.

BOKFS Understands the Unique Challenges Facing Texas Public Schools  
State funding has always been a major challenge for Texas public school districts. There is no adjustment in the formulas to account for inflation or cost of living variances in different regions. Compounding this challenge is the teacher shortage that worsened during the ongoing pandemic.

From a debt perspective, one of the greatest challenges facing fast-growth school districts is rising construction costs in the face of limited budget increases. Limited to a 50-cent debt tax rate, many fast-growth school districts are facing unprecedented challenges in how to add to existing or build new facilities, especially with little to no financial assistance from the State. With interest rates on the rise, fast-growth school districts will be hit by the one-two punch of additional interest costs and escalating construction costs.

In the same vein, it appears that the State legislature will again consider curtailing school district bond elections by limiting elections to once a year, requiring a supermajority vote for an election to pass and/or requiring minimum voting turnout requirements at levels that only occur during Presidential elections. In an environment where interest rates and construction costs are increasing on a daily basis, it could be financially catastrophic to school districts that delay needed capital improvement programs, ultimately putting an even greater burden on local taxpayers.

BOKFS Values Its Partnership with Fast Growth School Coalition
BOK Financial Securities is honored to support an organization like the Fast Growth School Coalition which advocates for investment in public school districts and high-quality education. At BOKFS, we are committed to supporting organizations that provide the greatest assistance to public schools, particularly fast-growth districts that are moving at a much more active pace than stable attendance school districts. 

Keeping Pace with Rising Construction Costs, Increasing Student Populations
Again, one of the biggest challenges facing fast-growth districts relates to being able to keep up with rising construction costs in the face of limited debt issuance. Districts are struggling to accommodate growing student populations unsure of whether sufficient operations funding will be available. As a result of these challenges, fast-growth districts will have to become more creative and find efficiencies given limited resources.

From a public education standpoint, returning the focus on the need for greater investment and providing high-quality education to the youth of Texas is the greatest challenge facing the state today. While this has always been the focus of Texas public schools, it is time for our elected officials in Austin to pitch in and become part of the solution.

BOK Financial Securities takes great pride in supporting Texas public school districts by helping them make the important decisions that they encounter daily and educate their Board of Trustees and constituents. For example, during bond election cycles BOKFS routinely provides economic and fiscal impact studies to selected school districts that demonstrate the positive economic impact a successful bond election would have on their community. In addition, BOKFS provides debt comparison studies that illustrate where a district stands in relation to their peers on various financial metrics.

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