Mt. San Jacinto Community College District officials are pleased to announce that they received prime financial ratings and strong outlooks from the nation’s leading investors services. Moody’s Investor Services affirmed an Aa1 rating for the college district’s general obligation (GO) bonds and assigned a stable outlook for the district, according to a statement released by the investor service.
S&P Global Ratings assigned its AA rating and also gave the district a stable outlook, according to S&P. Due to a strong credit quality and successful marketing effort, the MSJC bonds attracted more than $346 million of investor orders during the order period on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.
All bonds sold the morning the market opened. Of the $346.1 million investor orders, $343.0 million orders were placed by 33 institutional investors and $3.1 million orders placed by individual retail accounts. “I am extremely proud of this affirmation of our conservative fiscal stewardship and thrilled with the quick sale of the bonds, showing investor confidence.
Despite the pandemic and a recession, we were able to maintain this high rating,” said Dr. Roger Schultz, MSJC’s Superintendent/President. “This affirmation by our rating agencies Moody’s and S&P is evidence of our ongoing commitment to serving as responsible fiscal stewards of public funds.”
“These ratings are a testament to the diligence of our college district to plan long term and protect the best interests of our taxpayers,” said MSJC Board President Vicki Carpenter. “To have such high ratings during these difficult and unprecedented times should further instill faith and pride in the Mt. San Jacinto Community College District.”
The rating means the district receives better interest rates, therefore saving taxpayer dollars. The Aa1 rating was assigned to the “district’s $157.8 million outstanding general obligation unlimited tax (GOULT) bonds. We have also assigned a stable outlook to the district,” Moody’s stated.
According to S&P, the AA rating reflects the district’s solid economic indicators, and healthy available funds ($38.6 million in its unrestricted general fund and approximately $13 million in various funds as of June 30, 2020) equating to what the agency considers a solid 50.7% of total general fund expenses. “We are thrilled to receive these ratings,” said Beth Gomez, Vice President of Business Services. “A stable outlook means that our rating agencies expect our rating to remain high. It’s good for the district, good for the taxpayers and good for investors.”
MSJC • Contributed
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