The Denver public school district received some welcome news about its complicated pension debt arrangement, which became 11th-hour campaign fodder last month in Sen. Michael Bennet’s successful bid to keep the seat he was appointed to.
The Denver Post‘s Jeremy Meyer reports that the nation’s two top credit-rating agencies gave a favorable nod to the complex deal, saying it is stable.
The district’s finances ended up as part of the former superintendent Bennet’s campaign after The New York Times ran a front-page story on the financial transaction, which created derivative-backed certificates with a promise of lower rates for debt repayment and the potential to earn hundreds of millions more for the district.
The viability of that deal came into doubt after the stock market crashed, but Tom Boasberg, the district’s superintendent, has said the deal should ultimately save the district money going forward.
“It’s a very strong statement from both rating agencies that demonstrates the financial strength and stability of the district and should put to rest the political mudslinging we have been seeing in the Senate campaign and the erroneous information contained in last month’s New York Times article,” Boasberg told Meyer.