The Morning Report
Get the news and information you need to take on the day.
San Diego Unified scored high on its financial report card from two major credit rating agencies, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s. Both gave the school district their highest short-term ratings.
Standard & Poor’s cited the school district’s practice of setting aside existing money to make payments
“We look at cash,” said Le Quach, the primary credit analyst behind the S&P report. “Can they rely on existing cash flows to make their set-aside?”
The ratings are a big deal this year because San Diego Unified will have to borrow money to make payroll this fall, thanks to a state government decision to delay payments to schools. Preserving the credit rating was also touted by school board President Katherine Nakamura as a reason not to raid its emergency reserves during the budget crisis — a move that was criticized by employee unions, who pushed for San Diego Unified to use the funds to avoid layoffs.
Those reserves factored into the short-term rating, but they weren’t the main focus, Quach said.