Charleston County, South Carolina One of the grading organizations has given the Charleston County School District a high new credit rating.
Daniel Prentice, the district’s chief financial officer, said that these grades may be likened to an 800 credit score, which is what you might see on your credit score.
This rating indicates that the district’s cost of borrowing is linked to its credit rating, meaning a higher rating translates into a lower interest rate when the district issues notes or bonds to fund projects and other capital needs.
The district went from an AA to an AA+ on a scale of D to AAA. They are already at the top, so it might not be a big jump, but Prentice said it might set off a chain reaction for future success for the community as well as the district.
According to him, the more they reduce the cost of borrowing money, the more money they can eventually save the taxpayer and use elsewhere.
“When building a school facility, we have to build the best product at the lowest possible price because we are stewards of the taxpayers’ money,” Prentice stated. The ability to finance that asset at the lowest feasible interest rate is what we ultimately hope to achieve. Since the money that taxpayers invest in us is not ours, we can give the most value and save them money if we can accomplish all of those objectives.
After Greenville County Schools in the Upstate, the school district is one of only two in the state to receive an AA+ rating, the highest rating ever given to a school district in South Carolina.
