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District earns AAA ratings as staff presents $462 million combined budget and plans for bond sale
Summary
Zions Bank's Alex Buxton told the board the district received AAA ratings from Moody's and Fitch ahead of selling voter-approved bonds. Business administrator Alan Kearsley presented a final combined budget showing $462 million in total expenditures across funds for 2025-26 and confirmed no change to the certified tax rate is recommended.
The Salt Lake City School District presented an updated budget summary and celebrated top-tier bond ratings as staff prepares to sell bonds approved by voters in a recent election.
Alex Buxton of Zions Public Finance told the board that Moody's Investor Services and Fitch Ratings each awarded the district the highest available rating, AAA. 'They went through that process, they came back to us and gave us the highest bond rating available, which is AAA, both agencies,' Buxton said. He added the ratings will reduce borrowing costs and that the district's management, reserves and local economy were called out in the rating reports.
Business administrator Alan Kearsley presented the district's combined budget schedules (all funds) for 2025-26. Kearsley said the total combined expenditures for 2025-26 across the general fund, capital projects, internal service funds and special revenue funds sum to about $462,000,000. He said 48% of revenue is local (largely property taxes), 20% state and 4% federal, and that the budget includes a surge of bond proceeds this coming year tied to the two large high-school rebuild projects. Kearsley said the district is not recommending any change to the certified tax rate for the next budget year.
Kearsley and Buxton both described a next step timeline: the district has marketed the bond offering, received underwriter interest and planned a competitive sale that would award bonds to the lowest bidder; the rating reports and offering document went to market, and the district expected to sell the bonds the following morning.
Board members asked about fund balance practices and the duration of elevated capital spending, and Kearsley explained that bond proceeds temporarily raise both revenues and expenditures in the combined picture but are tied to large capital projects that will be spent over multiple years.
Why this matters: AAA ratings from two major agencies generally translate into lower interest payments on debt sold in the public markets, which reduces long-term taxpayer costs on bond-funded capital projects. The budget presentation framed the district's short-term spike in revenues and expenditures as tied to bond proceeds and major capital work rather than recurring operating increases.
What's next: The district will hold a public hearing on the budget at an upcoming meeting, finalize the offering, and return to the board for adoption of the final budget after the hearing and the bond sale proceeds are confirmed.
