Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it lowered its long-term rating to BB-plus from BBB-minus on the Pima County Industrial Development Authority, Ariz.'s series 2014 Pima project charter school revenue bonds issued on behalf of Noah Webster Basic Schools Inc. for its Noah Webster Schools-Pima project.
At the same time, Standard & Poor's assigned its BB-plus long-term rating to the authority's series 2015 education refunding bonds also issued on behalf of Noah Webster for its Noah Webster Schools-Mesa project. The outlook is stable.
"The rating action reflects our view of Noah Webster's continued growth risk associated with the 2014 opening of the NWS-Pima campus, which missed its enrollment projection by 44% in its first year of operations and resulted in significant budget pressure for the organization," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Debra Boyd.
