LOS ANGELES — Weakened financial operations resulted in the downgrade of $47.4 million of Conejo Valley Unified School District general obligation debt to A1 from A3, according to Moody's.
Moody's cited an expectation that reserves and liquidity will remain narrow, but stable going forward in changing the outlook from negative to stable.
The school district serves Thousand Oaks, a city north of Los Angeles, and adjacent unincorporated parts of Ventura County.
The downgrade reflects the district's weakened financial operations evidenced by three years of operating deficits, which have significantly narrowed reserves, and resulted in a weak liquidity position.
"The rating incorporates our expectation that reserves will not materially improve until fiscal 2017 due to ongoing structural imbalance and declining enrollment," according to Moody's. It "also considers the district's large and affluent tax base near the Los Angeles metropolitan area with high resident wealth levels, low debt burden and moderate pension burden."
The GO rating is based on the strength of the voter-approved, unlimited property tax pledge securing the bonds.
