Richland Schools Set to Sell

The Richland County No. 2 School District expects to competitively price $136.6 million of bonds Tuesday, including refunding and taxable qualified school construction bonds.

Supported by the South Carolina School District Enhancement Program, the bonds are rated Aa1 by Moody's Investors Service, AA by Standard & Poor's, and AA-plus by Fitch Ratings.

The deal includes $42.6 million of QSCBs, which represent the district's 2010 allocation. The bonds have maturities in one and 17 years.

The $94 million of refunding bonds will refund debt issued in 2002 and 2005. They mature in one to 14 years and do not extend current maturities. The county estimates the refunding will generate a net present-value savings of 3.2%, or $2.9 million of refunded principal.

The school district last priced bonds in May, issuing $9.6 million of general obligation debt maturing in one to three years with a true interest cost of 0.93%.

The district has $390.1 million in outstanding parity debt, Moody's said.

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South Carolina
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