Keygent Advises on $60 million GO Bond Issuance for Newhall School District
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Keygent was recently mentioned in an article in The Signal, Santa Clarita Valley, “Newhall Board to consider additional space for Head Start Program.” Keygent served as financial advisor to Newhall School District in connection with their $60 million Measure E general obligation bond financing. Measure E was approved on November 8, 2011 by 66.7% of the District’s voters. In 2012 and 2013, the District issued bond anticipation notes for project advancement and tax rate management purposes. The proceeds were used to modernize classroom buildings, upgrade classroom technology, install a fiber infrastructure, repair roofing, build a new auditorium, and improve science labs. In June 2017, the District successfully issued $60 million in general obligation bonds to repay the outstanding bond anticipation notes and fund approximately $3.8 million for technology projects.
Keygent advised the District throughout the financing process since 2011, including structuring the original Measure E bond program, preparing the tax rate statement for the voter ballot materials, advising District staff and the Governing Board on issuance options in terms of timing, structure, and estimated costs, creating and regularly updating tax rate projections based on the newest interest rate and assessed valuation data, leading the financing team to meet various deadlines, and reviewing market interest rates on pricing day (among other roles as the District’s fiduciary). Additionally, Keygent worked with the District through the credit rating process by preparing the credit presentation and talking points for the rating analysts. In May 2017, the District received strong ratings of AA- from Standard & Poor’s and Aa2 from Moody’s. Standard & Poor’s also upgraded the District’s outlook from “stable” to “positive”, which indicates the potential for a rating upgrade in the next two years.