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Bedford School District Earns Strong Credit Rating

BEDFORD, N.Y. -- Moody's Investors Service affirmed the Bedford Central School District's Aa1 bond rating last month. 

Bedford Central School District receives good rating by Moody's.

Bedford Central School District receives good rating by Moody's.

Photo Credit: Bedford Central School District website

“Moody's Investors Service has assigned Aa1 rating to Bedford Central School District's $33.25 million School District Refunding Serial Bonds, 2014 and a MIG 1 to the district's $12.2 million bond anticipation notes," a Moody's release states.

"Concurrently, Moody's has affirmed the Aa1 rating on the district's $51.9 million of previously issued general obligation debt. The Aa1 rating reflects the district's narrow financial position, a sizable and economically stable tax base with high wealth indicators located in suburban Westchester County and low debt burden. The MIG 1 rating reflects the district's strong access to capital markets and underlying credit strength.”  “The negative outlook reflects our expectation that reserve levels will continue to be pressured in the near term due to structural imbalance and planned spend-downs related to retirement costs.”  Throughout the budget development process annually, the Board of Education scrutinizes the district’s designated and undesignated reserves to comply with state regulations and limits to reduce significant additional staffing and program cuts, and to retain stability for the future.

This past year, the Board of Education also reviewed Assistant Superintendent Mark Betz’s analysis of the New York comptroller’s rubric of “fiscal stress” and made recommendations to retain the best rating possible for minimizing fiscal stress. 

“We are pleased to receive our Aa1 and MIG 1 ratings, as they acknowledge what we believe is a strong financial base and underlying credit strength," said Betz. 

"In addition, Moody’s negative outlook underscores the discussions the board and administration have been having about maintaining fiscal strength through a strong reserve position and effectively managing the use of fund balance and reserves to help fund budgets.”  The Bedford Central School District also accepted bids for bond anticipation notes and refunding bonds.   

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