COLLEGE BONDS RATED AA ISSUE TO BE SOLD IN S.F. NEXT WEEK.Byline: Daily News VALENCIA - Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings An international rating agency for financial institutions, insurance companies, and corporate, sovereign, and municipal debt. Fitch Ratings has headquarters in New York and London and is wholly owned by FIMALAC of Paris. and Standard & Poor's assigned an AA rating for College of the Canyons' first sale of its $82.1 million bond measure to expand and upgrade the Valencia campus. Based on that excellent rating, sales of $21 million in bonds, approved in November by voters, will be conducted next week by Stone & Youngberg, a brokerage firm based in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden . The Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Community College District, which governs College of the Canyons College of the Canyons is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state. According to the National Junior College Research Association, College of the Canyons consistently ranks in the top 50 community colleges in the nation. , did not qualify for the top AAA AAA: see American Automobile Association. (Triple A) A common single-cell battery used in a myriad of electronic devices of all variety. Like its double A (AA) cousin, it provides 1.5 volts of DC power. When used in series, the voltage is multiplied. rating because the state of California, with its declining budget, does not, college President Dianne Van Hook said Friday. The AA rating is higher than most school systems are seeing, but College of the Canyons convinced the ratings agencies of its outside income sources, Van Hook said. ``Even though we're state-funded, we explained that College of the Canyons is unique because of our support from the community, our grant writing and our partnerships with industry,'' she said. The rating means higher interest rates for investors and a lower insurance rate on the bonds - a lower bottom line, Van Hook said. The ratings agencies found the college district's tax base and economy sound, and its debt level and financial position healthy. The college is one of the fastest-growing community college districts in the nation. The tax base and the college enrollment are growing, a trend that is expected to continue, more than doubling the district's current 9,800 full-time students Full-Time Student A status that is important for determining dependency exemptions. An individual enrolled in a post-secondary institution may be eligible for certain tax breaks. Notes: The full-time status is based on what the individual's school considers full time. by 2010. ``While rapid enrollment demonstrates strong demand and community support, the robust growth may present operating and capital pressures,'' according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Fitch report. ``Nevertheless, the debt burden is low and should remain so over the near term.'' The rating is in response to voter approval Nov. 6 of Measure C. The bond money will build facilities that include a science laboratory, a physical education center, a job training center and a 37,000-square-foot library addition. Bond revenue also will finance a university center where students can take courses for several four-year institutions, as well as a satellite center in Canyon Country. |
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