Bangkok--16 Feb--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'A+' long-term rating, and stable outlook, to Pima County Unified School District No. 8 Flowing Wells, Ariz.'s (project of 2008) series 2009A school improvement bonds, in the amount of $9.95 million.
The rating reflects our view of the district's participation in the greater Tucson metropolitan statistical area economy; good-to-strong historical general fund balances, with additional available money outside the general fund; management's practice of carrying forward budgetary balances as permitted under the state funding formula; and a moderate debt burden with rapid amortization.
"The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the district will continue to manage its expenditures to maintain balanced operations despite recent and anticipated state cuts and declines in average daily membership," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Sussan Corson. The outlook also reflects our expectation that Pima County Unified School District's debt burden will remain moderate despite additional plans to issue debt in 2011 under the current bond authorization.
These positive factors are offset by what we see as the district's declining average daily membership in the past three years; and median household effective buying income, which while we view as adequate, remains below the national average. The bonds are secured by an unlimited ad valorem tax levy on all taxable property within the district.
The district encompasses 12.5 square miles and provides K-12 educational services to residents in the city of Tucson and surrounding areas in northeastern Pima County.
Complete ratings information is available to 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; select your preferred country or region, then Ratings in the left navigation bar, followed by Find a Rating.
Media Contact:
Edward Sweeney, New York (1) 212-438-6634, [email protected]
Analyst Contacts:
Sussan Corson, New York (1) 212-438-2014
David G Hitchcock, New York (1) 212-438-2022
Key Contacts:
Americas Media Relations: (1) 212-438-6667
media_ [email protected]
Americas Customer Service: (1) 212-438-7280
[email protected]