Hawkins is considered the national leader in tax-exempt financings for independent primary and secondary schools. The schools that the firm has assisted include many of the most renowned in the nation, and comprise a majority of the most highly rated secondary schools.
Transactions for these schools involve various financing tools corresponding to the needs of the particular institution. Among the financing structures our attorneys regularly implement are public issuances, private loans, limited collateral security offerings, and the full spectrum of multi-modal financial products.
The following is a representative list of the firm’s recurring bond counsel and underwriters’ counsel engagements in the independent primary and secondary schools sector:
- Avon Old Farms School
- Blair Academy
- Brewster Academy
- Calhoun School
- Canterbury School
- Colburn School
- Derryfield School
- Drew High School
- Ethical Culture Fieldstone School
- Friends Academy
- Gill-St. Bernard School
- Grace Church School
- High Mowing School
- Lick-Wilmerding School
- Menlo School
- Milton Academy
- New Hampton School
- Norwich Free Academy
- Phillips Exeter Academy
- Princeton Day School
- Proctor Academy
- Rectory School
- Riverdale Country Day School
- Salisbury School
- San Francisco University High School
- St. Mark’s School
- St. Paul’s Episcopal Day School
- St. Paul’s School
- The Brooklyn Heights Montessori School
- The Gunnery School
- The Holderness School
- The Hotchkiss School
- The Julliard School
- The Nightingale-Bamford School
- The Reece School
- The Spence School
- The Urban School of San Francisco
- Tilton School
- Westminster School
- Wildwood School
Hawkins frequently has served as bond counsel on tax exempt financings for charter schools. Among these are bonds issued for Pacific Collegiate School in Santa Cruz, California (variable rate demand bonds supported by a letter of credit), and Lighthouse Charter School and Lodestar Charter School in Oakland, California (direct placements to banks). The firm also served as bond counsel for obligations issued on behalf of the Ridgeline Montessori Public Charter School through a program of the Oregon Facilities Authority, which is Oregon’s statewide, conduit issuer of 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt bond transactions. In each case, Hawkins successfully worked through challenges relating to financial covenants, tax issues and disclosure.
