Moody's Investors Service upgraded the rating last week for a vocational-technical college district in suburban Milwaukee to Aaa from Aa1, making it the only such district in the nation to achieve the agency's highest rating.
The upgrade of the Waukesha Area Vocational, Technical and Adult Education District's rating was done in conjunction with the competitive sale of $4.5 million of general obligation bonds last week.
In a press release, Moody's cied the district's "substantial financial flexibility, minimal debt levels and growing, wealthy service area" as reasons for the upgrade, which affects about $10.8 million of outstanding GO debt.
Moody's also said the district's borrowing plan calls for the issuance of $2 million to $2.5 million a year for remodeling and site improvements and issues of $5 million every three years for major equipment purchases.
Arlene Bohner, a senior analyst at Moody's said the district has budgeted conservatively and is "well below"] its tax limit.
Cary Olson, the district's controller, said the district has managed to stay below its 1.5 mill operating limit for property taxes over the past 10 years. She added that the district usually pays off its debt in five to seven years. The district's debt is rated only by Moody's, according to Olson.
