Waukee CSD Maintains Rating from Moody’s Investors Service
New York, April 27, 2023 — Moody’s Investors Service has assigned a Aa2 to Waukee Community School District, IA’s $61 million General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2023A. Moody’s maintains the district’s Aa2 issuer rating and Aa2 general obligation unlimited tax (GOULT) rating. Following the sale, the district will have $328 million of GOULT bonds.
RATINGS RATIONALE
The Aa2 issuer rating reflects the district’s strong economic characteristics, including very strong property wealth and resident income as well as rapid enrollment growth. Financial performance is adequate with satisfactory reserves. The district benefits from good governance as evidenced by management’s prudent fiscal practices. The rating also reflects an elevated long-term liabilities ratio because of recent borrowing to accommodate growing enrollment.
The Aa2 GOULT rating is equivalent to the Aa2 issuer rating based on the district’s pledge and statutory obligation to levy a dedicated property tax that is unlimited as to rate or amount.
RATING OUTLOOK
Moody’s typically does not assign outlooks to local governments with this amount of debt.
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OF THE RATING
- Moderation of long-term liabilities
- Material growth in the district’s operating reserves
FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO A DOWNGRADE OF THE RATING
- Substantial increases to leverage ratios
- Weakening of property wealth or resident income
- Material deterioration of fund balance or liquidity
LEGAL SECURITY
Debt service on the district’s GOULT debt, including the Series 2023A bonds, is payable from a dedicated property tax levy that is unlimited as to rate or amount.
USE OF PROCEEDS
The Series 2023A bonds will be used to complete projects approved by voters in September 2020, including construction of school buildings to accommodate growing enrollment. The bonds represent the final issuance from $205 million of bonding authority.
PROFILE
Waukee Community School District is located in the Des Moines (Aa2 stable) metropolitan area in Dallas County (Aaa stable) and has a growing population of nearly 65,000. The district serves the cities of Waukee (Aa2), Clive (Aa1), Urbandale (Aa1) and West Des Moines (Aaa stable) as well as unincorporated portions of Dallas County and offers education for students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade. District enrollment totaled over 13,000 students in fiscal 2024.
METHODOLOGY
The principal methodology used in this rating was US K-12 Public School Districts Methodology published in January 2021. Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For further specification of Moody’s key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody’s Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found on Moody’s website.
For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody’s rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider’s credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see the issuer/deal page for the respective issuer on Moody’s website.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating review.
