The Chino Valley Unified School District sold $117.8 million in bonds to finance capital improvements and refund previously issued securities.
The district sold the bonds in two series. The capital improvement bonds, consisting of $100 million, mature between 2025 and 2055, yielding between 2.48% and 4.73%. The refunding bonds, consisting of $17.8 million, mature between 2024 and 2030, yielding between 2.48% and 3.4%. The securities received a rating of AA- from S&P Global Ratings and Aa2 from Moody’s Investors Service, which assigned a stable outlook.
“The stable outlook reflects our expectation that the district’s financial position will remain at healthy levels over the medium term, supported by the district’s history of conservative budgeting and demonstrated ability to maintain structurally balanced operations,” Moody’s analysts wrote.
The Chino Valley Unified School District is in San Bernardino County and serves the cities of Chino, Chino Hills, and parts of Ontario. It is about 30 miles east of Los Angeles.
The issuance comes amid steadily falling enrollment in the district, which now educates 25,512 students, according to the official statement accompanying the sale of the bonds. Enrollment has fallen every year since 2018, when the district enrolled 27,590 students.
The district will use the bond proceeds to finance new buildings, including a gymnasium and administrative building at one high school, a performing arts center at another, and classroom furniture upgrades throughout. It will also use the proceeds to refund bonds it sold in 2014.
The bonds are general obligations of the district, payable by property taxes.
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc served as underwriter on the issuance, purchasing the bonds for $124 million. The price reflected a premium of $7 million. Keygent, LLC acted as municipal advisor.