Washoe News

Washoe County School District recently issued the following announcement.

Thanks to its prudent fiscal management, the Washoe County School District (WCSD) has maintained its favorable ratings from Moody’s Investor Service and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. This week, Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) reaffirmed the Washoe County School District’s “AA” bond ratings.  S&P has rated the District’s long-term debt as “AA”, while Moody’s rating of the District is “Aa3.”

Bond ratings from the credit rating agencies are important because investors that buy long-term municipal bonds sold by the District and other government entities look to these ratings as a gauge of the financial strength of an agency. The better an agency’s credit rating is, the lower the interest rate the agency generally has to pay when it sells bonds in the bond market. 

Both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s commented on the District’s healthy financial position and strong management at the District. The rating agencies’ comments on the strong reserves of the District are quite a turnaround from when the District was in a budget deficit prior to 2020.  The District has had three straight fiscal years with a General Fund surplus and a balanced budget.

In their report, S&P commented that “the district has maintained a strong overall financial position that is anchored by a proactive and sophisticated management team.” Both Moody’s and S&P noted the District’s “strong management” and the efforts the District has made to move from a structural imbalance several years ago to “a healthy financial position,” as noted by Moody’s. S&P commented on the District’s “strong management, with realistic revenue and expenditure assumptions for budget building, which has anchored the district’s overall strong financial profile.” 

The District plans to sell $49.22 million of general obligation bonds pledging WC-1 sales tax revenues and $64 million of refunding bonds on Wednesday, February 16, 2022.  The proceeds of the WC-1 bonds will help provide financing for the construction of the new Debbie Smith Career and Technical Education (CTE) Academy on the current Proctor Hug High School site.  The new Hug High School will open in August 2022, allowing for construction of the new CTE Academy, which is scheduled to open in 2024.

Original source can be found here.