Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Bond Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District—s municipal advisor outlines $110M bond plan and state reimbursement assumptions
Summary
Hilltop Securities presented a conservative financing plan for a $110M bond issue, modeling a 5% interest scenario and noting Rhode Island—s Department of Education reimbursement typically covers about 61% of debt service; committee discussion covered rating, timing and issuance options.
The Chariho Regional School Committee on Nov. 18 heard a detailed bond-financing briefing from municipal advisor Matt Blaise of Hilltop Securities on a proposed $110 million to $110.2 million bond issue intended to support the district—s capital needs.
Blaise said the analysis modeled a 30-year amortization under conservative assumptions, using a 5% interest rate for sensitivity. "What this is looking at is a $110,000,000 to $110,200,000 bond issue," he said, adding the base state reimbursement for eligible school projects is currently estimated at 61% and can be modeled as high as 65% in certain cases. Using the 61% baseline, Blaise showed net annual debt-service estimates that the district would carry after reimbursement.
He outlined the conduit issuance route through the Rhode Island Health and Educational Building Corporation, which allows reimbursement on interest costs but adds procedural steps (two board votes and additional due diligence); Blaise estimated the conduit process could take roughly 10 to 12 weeks from approval through pricing. He also described structuring options to mitigate short-term taxpayer impact, including issuing bonds in series, interest-only early periods, or short-term bond-anticipation notes, and cautioned that short-term notes typically are not reimbursed for interest by the state.
Committee members asked how bond rating and market timing would affect interest rates; Blaise said the district—s current Moody—s rating is AA3 and that pricing would likely be lower than the conservative 5% assumed if bonds priced today. He noted the reimbursement rate is locked in once RIDE approves a project—s stage approval.
No formal vote on bond language was taken; members asked bond counsel to return in December with precise legislative language for the committee to consider ahead of the legislative session that begins in January. The bond conversation will continue when bond counsel and additional staff can be present.
