Business Services Industry
Fitch Rts $50.0MM Moreno Valley Unified School District, CA, GO Bonds 'A+'
Business Wire, May 12, 2004
Business Editors
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 2004
Fitch Ratings assigns an 'A ' rating to $50.0 million Moreno Valley Unified School District general obligation bonds, 2004 election, series A (Riverside County, California). The Rating Outlook is Stable. The bonds are expected to sell via negotiation led by George K. Baum & Company on June 9th.
The 'A ' rating reflects the district's adequate financial operations and good fund balances, low to moderate debt levels, and strong annual assessed valuation (AV) growth. These factors are somewhat offset by growth-related capital pressures.
Located in western Riverside County, the district is home to 150,200 residents and encompasses a 43 square-mile area, including the city of Moreno Valley. The district sits along Highway 60, half-way between Los Angeles and Palm Springs. Student enrollment for the current fiscal year is 32,195. The area is primarily a bedroom community serving Riverside and the greater Los Angeles labor markets.
The Riverside County economy is diversified as evidenced by the flourishing industrial and commercial activities. City of Moreno Valley's unemployment rates are slightly higher than the county's, but are below the state and national rates. Median household income in 2000 was above the county and national medians, but just below California's. The district has experienced four years of strong AV growth, with assessed valuation growing at 10.1% in fiscal 2004. Taxpayer concentration is minimal.
Financial operations are adequate, marked by operating surpluses in two of the last three fiscal years. A $10.8 million operating surplus in fiscal 2003 brought the ending general fund balance to $24.9 million, or a healthy 12.0% of spending. This was achieved by close to $13.0 million in spending cuts instituted by the district's new management team. Fiscal 2003 cuts, along with a $4.0 million reduction in budgeted spending for the current fiscal year, have restored structural balance to the district's finances. The 2003 fund balance is a marked improvement over the previous two years, when fund balances were a satisfactory 6.5% and 5.6 % of spending, respectively.
This issuance was approved by an affirmative vote of 66.9% of the voters in March 2004, under California's Proposition 39 election procedure. Bond proceeds will be used for (a) repairs and improvements of existing schools ($20 million), and (b) construction of up to 10 new schools ($50 million). The district expects to receive up to $150 million in state hardship funding, to finance the construction of seven of these new schools. While preliminary, successful application for and receipt of state matching funds will go along way towards relieving growth-related capital spending and alleviating the need for additional debt issuance. Direct and overall debt levels are low to moderate at $568 per capita (1.4% of AV) and $1,445 (3.5% of AV), respectively. There are currently no plans to seek additional voter-approved debt.
- 5 Rules for Immediate Annuities
- Death in the Family: 12 Things to Do Now
- Dumbest Things You Do With Your Money
- 6 Online Networking Mistakes to Avoid
- 401(k) Mistakes to Avoid
- 5 Economic Scenarios to Keep You Up at Night
- The Real ‘Best Places to Retire’
- Best Credit Cards for You
- 12 Tough Questions to Ask Your Parents
- The Real ‘Best Colleges’
- Home Buyer Tax Credit: How to Cash In
- Why You Shouldn't Bash Cash
- 8 Phony 'Bargains' and Better Alternatives
- Danger: 3 Debit Card Scams to Avoid
- 6 Myths About Gas Mileage
- 29 Fees We Hate Most
- Quick and Easy Ways to Boost Returns
- Best Stocks to Buy Now
- Lower Your Taxes: 10 Moves to Make Now
- New Jobs: 8 Lessons from Real-Life Career Switchers
- The New Job Market: Who Wins and Who Loses?
- Health Care Reform's Public Option: Everything You Need to Know
- Volunteer Work When Unemployed: Should You Work for Free?
- Whose Recovery Is This?
- Long-Term-Care Insurance: 4 Biggest Risks to Avoid
Most Recent Business Articles
- Psyadon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Announces Regulatory Milestones and the Initiation of a Clinical Trial of Ecopipam in Lesch-Nyhan Disease
- Emergence of “Femtomedicine” - New Frontier of Biomed Sciences - Reported at First Global Congress on Nano Medicine
- Research and Markets: Ethiopia Power Market Outlook to 2020
- Research and Markets: Orphan Drugs in Asia-Pacific: from Designation to Pricing, Funding & Market Access
- Research and Markets: Now You See It - TV Program Sponsorship & Product Placement in China
Most Recent Business Publications
Most Popular Business Articles
- 7 tips for effective listening: productive listening does not occur naturally. It requires hard work and practice - Back To Basics - effective listening is a crucial skill for internal auditors
- FHM Features Anna Benson, Baseball's Hottest Wife
- Building a DNA database: the federal government has just enacted two bills related to DNA. The first would drive the collection of DNA from all infants. The second would attempt to prevent the DNA that is collected from being misused
- America's most wanted j-o-b-s - 10 hottest employment opportunities
- Developmental sequence in small groups


