NY -- Standard&Poor's CreditWire 12/15/98 – Standard&Poor's today assigned its single-'A'-minus rating to Newark Unified School District, Calif.'s refunding 1998 certificates of participation dated Dec. 1, 1998 due July 1, 2004. The rating reflects: -- The general creditworthiness of the district; -- A legal structure that includes a covenant to budget and appropriate annual lease payments; -- The strong essentiality of the leased assets; and -- Additional strength provided by a voter-approved tax override, which is pledged to bond repayment. The bonds are secured by the district lease rental payments. Under an asset-transfer lease agreement with the Newark Unified School District Corp., a nonprofit public benefit corporation, the district has covenanted to budget appropriate lease payments
