Standard & Poor’s Tuesday upgraded the Linn-Benton Community College District’s general obligation bonds to AA-minus from A-plus. It also assigned a AA-minus to the district’s $3.5 million of Series 2008 full faith and credit obligations. The outlook is stable.
The district, based in Albany about 70 miles south of Portland, is planning to issue $4.3 million of GOs Wednesday, according to underwriter Seattle-Northwest Securities Corp.
“The upward rating action reflects the district’s record of maintaining a sustained above-average reserves position and the growth of its economic base,” Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Chris Morgan said in a news release.
“Its financial performance has been unusual in a state where community colleges receive operating aid on an uneven two-year cycle that typically results in significant swings in reserves from year to year,” Morgan said. “Our rating action also recognizes the district’s record of achieving above-average reserves by using the flexibility available to it under state law, including adjusting its tuition rate or eliminating course offerings to improve its financial operations.”
Bond proceeds will be used to expand the district’s classroom capacity by about 10%, with new instructional space for mathematics, biology, physics, and other disciplines.
