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Sale of School bonds saves taxpayers money |
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Wednesday, 02 July 2008 |
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Page 2 of 2
During the bond issuance process, the elementary and high school bonds were both rated “A” by Standard & Poor’s rating agency, which is a very strong rating historically for Montana school districts. A good bond rating from Standard & Poor’s allows school districts to sell bonds at lower interest rates because the credit factors of the bond issue or “loan” are rated strong and stable. Bond ratings are an assessment by an independent rating agency of the overall credit worthiness of a bond issuer, such as a school district, on repayment of a particular bond issue. In the rating report for Conrad schools, Standard & Poor’s indicated that the “A” ratings reflect the “districts’ consistently strong financial performance and very strong reserve levels; the districts’ low debt burden, as a percent of market value, and no plans to issue additional debt financing; and the City of Conrad’s role as a regional center and adequate income measures.”
The bonds are general obligations of the districts and are being issued to pa each district’s share of designing, constructing, furnishing and equipping a new gymnasium and locker rooms on the Conrad High School campus and converting the existing high school gymnasium and locker rooms into an auditorium/multi-purpose room and related improvements. In addition, the high school bonds are being issued for the purpose of paying the costs of acquiring and installing a new heating and ventilation system and related improvement to serve the existing high school facilities.
L’Heureux Page Werner Architects of Great Falls is working on the design of the project and Swank Enterprises of Valier is the general contractor. Construction of the project is expected to commence before Sept. 1.
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