The Board of Education of the Hemlock Public School District is proud to announce the successful sale of its 2022 School Building and Site Bonds, Series I (the "Bonds") in the amount of $17,200,000 represent the first series of bonds as authorized by the voters of the School District in May of 2022. The Bonds will be used for the purpose of erecting, furnishing and equipping additions to school buildings; remodeling, furnishing and refurnishing and equipping and re-equipping school buildings; acquiring, installing and equipping or re-equipping school buildings for instructional technology; purchasing school buses; and preparing, developing, improving and equipping playgrounds, play fields, athletic fields and facilities and sites (the "Project"); and paying the cost of issuing the Bonds.
In preparing to sell the Bonds, the School District, working with its municipal advisor, PFM Financial Advisors LLC, requested that Moody's Investors Service, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. ("Moody's") evaluate the School District's credit quality. Moody's upgraded the School District’s outstanding underlying rating from “A2” to "A1" with a stable outlook. S&P also assigned the Bonds an enhanced long-term rating of "Aa1" due to the district's participation in the Michigan School Bond Qualification and Loan Program.
Board President, Matt Wesener, said “We approach our financial responsibility to our tax paying community with the utmost importance. We are able to generate the dollars necessary to drive tremendous improvement throughout the district without raising the current mill rate because of our credit rating and fiduciary responsibility.”
The School District's financing was conducted by the Michigan investment banking office of the brokerage firm, Stifel, the municipal advising firm, PFM Financial Advisors LLC, and the law firm serving as bond counsel, Thrun Law Firm, P.C. The School District's Bonds were sold at a true interest rate of 4.14% with a final maturity of 2052 (a repayment term of approximately 30 years).
Brodie Killian, Managing Director with Stifel states, "Hemlock Public School Districts' bond sale was met with solid execution. We saw a wide cross section of investors participate. The District was able to lock in a cost of funds which met their long-term capital financing goals."