Bangkok--16 Jul--Standard & Poor's
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'AA' long-term rating, with a stable outlook, to Malheur County School District No. 8C (Ontario), Ore.'s series 2010 general obligation (GO) bonds, reflecting credit enhancement by the State of Oregon. In addition, we assigned our 'A+' issuer credit rating (ICR) for schools to the bonds.
"The ICR reflects our view of the district's pattern of making timely adjustments to expenditures in response to continuing revenue pressures, strong financial position at the end of fiscal 2010, and low-to-moderate debt burden," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Chris Morgan.
We understand that the district will use proceeds to renovate and expand its existing middle school, add science classrooms at its high school, improve its vocational facilities, and make heating, ventilating, and air conditioning and other facility improvements to improve energy efficiency.
Focused on the City of Ontario in eastern Oregon, the district serves an area with a population of 18,809 and $1.2 billion in market value.
The stable outlook on the long-term rating reflects that on the state enhancement program rating, which is equivalent to that on the state GO rating. The stable outlook on the ICR reflects our view that continuing revenue pressure attributable to declining weighted average daily membership (the primary driver of its operating revenues under the state funding framework) and revenue stress at the state level will continue to represent a budgetary challenges for the district such that the district's available balances could fall below the district's informal minimum threshold by fiscal 2012.
RELATED CRITERIA AND RESEARCH
USPF Criteria: GO Debt, Oct. 12, 2006
USPF Criteria: Key General Obligation Ratio Credit Ranges — Analysis Vs. Reality, April 2, 2008
USPF Criteria: State Credit Enhancement Programs, Nov. 13, 2008
Standard & Poor's Credit Views Of The Municipal Bond Provisions In The 2009 Stimulus Act, May 28, 2009
Complete ratings information is available to RatingsDirect on the Global Credit Portal subscribers 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 (212) 438-5095,
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Analyst Contacts:
Chris Morgan, San Francisco (1) 415-371-5032
Lisa Schroeer, Charlottesville (1) 434-220-0892
Key Contacts:
Americas Media Relations: (1) 212-438-6667
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Americas Customer Service: (1) 212-438-7280
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