Mountain Brook Schools Earns Highest Bond Rating

MOUNTAIN BROOK, AL — Mountain Brook City Schools received S&P's highest bond rating recently, as it prepares to finance approximately $75 million in capital improvement projects across the district.

In its first time evaluating MBS, S&P assigned the district the AAA rating, which underscores the district's strong capacity to meet its financial commitments.

Only 84 out of more than 5,100 U.S. public school districts assessed by S&P have received a AAA rating, placing MBS in the top 1.64% of rated school districts nationally.

“This excellent rating reflects the strength of our local tax base and our school district’s unwavering commitment to prudent financial stewardship,” MBS Chief School Financial Officer Kari Austin said. “A rating of this caliber will enable us to borrow money at the lowest possible interest rate and keep us on stable financial ground for years to come."

Moody’s also assigned MBS a strong rating of Aa1. Entities that receive this rating are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk. According to a Moody’s press release, the Aa1 rating reflects “exceptional wealth and income, strong reserves and liquidity, and elevated leverage.”

Now that it has secured dual bond ratings, the Mountain Brook Board of Education will soon meet to approve the bond pricing structure. Capital improvement projects are set to begin following the 2020-2021 school year.

Capital improvements are planned in the coming years at Mountain Brook City Schools, which includes a $20 million project at Mountain Brook High School.