Bangkok--30 Nov--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'AA-' rating to Colorado's Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) series 2010D taxable Qualified School Construction, series 2010E taxable Build America, and series 2010F tax-exempt certificates of participation (COPs). Standard & Poor's also affirmed the state's 'AA' issuer credit rating and its 'AA-' rating and underlying rating (SPUR) on the state's other lease and COPs debt. The outlook is stable.
"The ratings reflect our view of a broad and diverse state economy that continues to exhibit better-than-average income, employment, and population trends despite the economic downturn; the state's history of making midyear budget corrections, when required, triggered by updated quarterly revenue forecasts; and the state's good financial performance," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Matthew Reining.
We understand that the proceeds will be used to finance improvements at various schools across the state.
BEST is a state program to fund capital construction in Colorado's K-12 schools. This program is backed by the state's credit, but in practice uses revenues (rental income and royalties) from state school trust lands and a portion of lottery proceeds, paired with matching funds from participating school districts. The school trust lands were granted to Colorado at statehood in order to benefit schools. Matching funds from participating schools are generally required, based on relative wealth and ability to pay, and exemptions are few. The current issuance is the third round following the initial round in mid-2009. The state has designed BEST as an ongoing program.
RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH
USPF Criteria: GO Debt, Oct. 12, 2006
USPF Criteria: Appropriation-Backed Obligations, June 13, 2007
Complete ratings information is available to RatingsDirect subscribers on the Global Credit Portal at www.globalcreditportal.com and RatingsDirect subscribers at www.ratingsdirect.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com. Use the Ratings search box located in the left column.
Media Contact:
Ana Sandoval, New York (1) 212-438-5095,
[email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Matthew Reining, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5044
David G Hitchcock, New York (1) 212-438-2022