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RSU 14 moves ahead with $105 million bond sale, seeks S&P and Moody’s ratings
Summary
Superintendent announced RSU 14 will seek credit ratings from S&P and Moody’s ahead of a planned $105 million bond sale and described related timing, costs and near-term borrowing needs.
Superintendent (unnamed) told the Wyndham Raymond School District board on April 16 that the district will pursue credit ratings from Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s as it prepares a planned $105,000,000 bond sale to refinance upcoming payments.
The superintendent said the meetings with S&P and Moody’s are scheduled “tomorrow” from the April 16 meeting and that the district paid for the rating process, which he said costs $76,000. He told the board the district’s rating last year was AA2 and that RSU 14 had the highest rating of any regional school unit in Maine at that time.
The superintendent said the bond sale is expected to follow the rating process, with bonds “look like they’re gonna be sold May 6.” He said the district is working with bond anticipation notes (BANs) and will borrow $105,000,000 to address a near-term funding need tied to an $82,000,000 payment and other timing issues the district faces.
The superintendent cautioned that broader state-level litigation — a civil lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against the state of Maine referenced in public reporting that day — may have unknown implications for RSU 14 and that he had no immediate answers about any district impact.
Board members took no formal vote on the financing during the April 16 meeting; the superintendent said next steps include final legal due diligence (a meeting with attorneys) and continuing the rating interviews.
