The Culver City Unified School District recently completed a highly successful sale of its $26.5 million Election of 2014 General Obligation Bonds, Series A (Culver City Unified School District General Obligation Bond Program).
The bonds were well received in the market, and the timing of the sale could not have been better for the district. The District entered the bond market one day after the lowest interest rate levels of 2014 year-to-date. Focus on Federal Reserve policy, mixed economic data, uncertainty in Europe, and other geopolitical issues created a “flight to quality” into U.S. Treasuries and municipal bonds.
“We were incredibly fortunate that on our bond sale date, the bond market reached its lowest level of the year,” said Mike Reynolds, CCUSD’s Assistant Superintendent, Business Services. “Our original projections for the interest owed over the life of these bonds was $50 million, but because of the timing, taxpayers will only owe $40 million.
We were also extremely fortunate in having the expert assistance of both Keygent Advisors and our Bond Counsel, Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, throughout this entire process.”
The bonds received strong ratings from both Moody’s Investors Service, which assigned an Aa2 rating to the bonds, and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, which assigned its “AA-” rating.
In 2014, Culver City voters overwhelmingly approved Measure CC, which authorized the sale of $106 million in bonds to repair all of the District’s school sites based on a prioritization list created by the District and community members. In addition, a citizens’ oversight committee will be formed to ensure that funds from the measure are spent properly.
For more information about Measure CC and the bonds that were sold as a result of its passage, persons interested can visit: http://www. ccusd.org/apps/pages/index. jsp?uREC_ID=212970&type=d.