School System Credit Rating Stays Steady

The Stephens County School System receives good news from a credit rating agency.

On Thursday, Stephens County School Superintendent Bryan Dorsey told the Board of Education that Standard and Poor’s had contacted the school system regarding a review of its credit rating based off the information in the recently completed Fiscal Year 2014 audit.

Dorsey said that the school system spoke with Standard and Poor’s about what has happened since Fiscal Year 2014 in the school system to show the complete picture.

He said the results of those conversations were positive.

“We spent some extensive time with them over the phone and as we got called back over the Christmas holidays, the guy said he had been there 25 years and in all his life, he had never seen them see a downward turned audit, but the committee decided to hold our credit rating as is, both on the bond side and on our general fund side,” said Dorsey.

Dorsey went on to say that the school system’s credit rating staying the same was not the only good news the school system received from Standard and Poor’s.

“They moved our general fund from an unfavorable position to a favorable position,” said Dorsey. “We actually, while it held the same, got a better report out of it. They were complementary to the board for its decisiveness. The guy told me in his 25 years, he had never seen a private or a public entity turn anything around that fast.”

According to Dorsey, the Stephens County school system currently has a great credit rating on the bond side that is important for the school system.