Fitch Rates Anaheim City School District, CA $63MM GO Ref Bonds 'AA'.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 -- 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. assigns an 'AA' rating to approximately $63 million Anaheim City School District (County of Orange, California The City of Orange is located in Orange County, California, United States. It is approximately 3 miles (6 kilometers) north of the county seat, Santa Ana, and approximately 32 miles (52 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. ) 2005 general obligation (GO) refunding bonds. Bond proceeds will be used to advance refund a portion of the district's outstanding GO bonds, and cash resulting from the refunding structure will provide additional funds for the voter-approved construction and modernization projects. The bonds are scheduled to sell via negotiation led by UBS UBS Union Bank of Switzerland UBS United Bible Societies UBS United Blood Services UBS United Buying Service UBS Used Bookstore UBS University Business Services UBS Universal Building Society (UK) UBS Ulaanbaatar Broadcasting System Financial Services Inc. during the week of June 20. In addition, Fitch affirms the 'AA' rating on all outstanding GO bonds, which will total approximately $6 million after the refunding. The Rating Outlook on all bonds is Stable. The 'AA' rating reflects Anaheim City School District's (the district) sound financial operations including good reserve levels, strong assessed valuation growth, stable underlying economy, and low debt levels. Also incorporated in the rating is the ongoing uncertainty in state education funding, declining enrollment, and taxpayer concentration, specifically by The Walt Disney Company (senior unsecured notes rated 'BBB+', with a Stable Outlook by Fitch). The district area economy is mature and remains sound with moderate population growth, wealth levels and unemployment rates. The district encompasses approximately 22 square miles in the downtown area of Anaheim (the city), California, approximately 28 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or in northern Orange County. District enrollment, at 21,400 for fiscal 2005, is down from its peak in 2002 of 22,400, and similar declines are expected in the future. However, the district continues to experience overcrowding overcrowding overcrowding of animal accommodation. Many countries now publish codes of practice which define what the appropriate volumetric allowances should be for each species of animal when they are housed indoors. Breaches of these codes is overcrowding. at its aging facilities and proceeds from the bonds are being used to rebuild two schools and to modernize and expand capacity at other existing facilities. Financial operations are healthy. Cash balances are good and reductions in the general fund reserves in fiscal 2002 and 2003 primarily reflect transfers to district special reserve accounts. Fiscal 2004 operations resulted in a 7% increase in the total fund balance. Nonetheless, the district receives over 50% of its revenues from the state, an unreliable source of late, and expects declining enrollment to continue. To compensate, the district maintains strong unreserved fund balance levels, which ended fiscal 2004 at $29 million or 19% of spending. The district projects close to break-even operations in fiscal 2005 and has included modest increases in spending in the fiscal 2006 budget. The district area economy is characterized by its location in fully developed downtown Anaheim; overall income levels are lower than county and state levels, and low per capita income Noun 1. per capita income - the total national income divided by the number of people in the nation income - the financial gain (earned or unearned) accruing over a given period of time levels and higher median household buying income reflect the higher than average persons per household. The city's unemployment rate, at 5.3%, is above the county's 4.3% but below the state's 6.2%. The district's economy is dominated by Disneyland and related Disney attractions -- The Walt Disney Company accounts for a highly concentrated 23% of assessed value (AV). Assessed valuation growth has been strong. Even including a correction in Disney's fiscal 2004 AV, which reduced the total AV by 8%, average annual growth in district AV has been over 9% since 2000. The district assumes AV growth of 4.5% annually, which Fitch considers to be achievable but somewhat optimistic considering the built-out nature of the district. Low direct debt levels -- $190 per capita [Latin, By the heads or polls.] A term used in the Descent and Distribution of the estate of one who dies without a will. It means to share and share alike according to the number of individuals. and 0.4% of market value -- stem from limited debt issuance and regular pay-as-you-go capital spending capital spending Spending for long-term assets such as factories, equipment, machinery, and buildings that permits the production of more goods and services in future years. . When including overlapping debt Overlapping Debt The debt of a political entity such as a state where its tax base overlaps the tax base of another political entity such as a city within the state. Notes: If the issuer of a municipal bond has overlapping debt, it should be considered. , the ratios are moderate at $920 per capita and 2% of market value. The 2005 bonds are being issued to restructure portions of the outstanding series 2002 and 2004, which were issued under a $111 million bond initiative that passed under Proposition 39 in March 2002 with 63% voter approval. Future debt plans include issuing the remaining $44.8 million in authorized GO bonds in 2007. Fitch's rating definitions are available on the agency's public web site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies and relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from this site, at all times. This document will remain on the public site for seven days. |
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