...S&P Global Ratings lowered its underlying rating to '###+' from 'A-' on Cleveland Municipal School District, Ohio's outstanding general obligation (GO) debt. The outlook is negative. At the same time, we affirmed our '##' long-term rating on the school district's GO debt. The outlook is stable. The '##' long-term rating reflects our assessment of the district's eligibility for, and participation in, the Ohio State Aid Intercept program. The state credit enhancement rating is one notch below our GO rating on Ohio (##+/stable), reflecting our view of: + State aid appropriation risks, which, in our view, are partially mitigated by strong state support for the program and consistent and well-established state aid funding; + Our expectation that maximum annual debt service (MADS) coverage on all parity debt by state aid payments, currently 3.6x, will remain strong. + Our view that the flow of state aid distributions and debt service payment dates result in a moderate assessment of timing and...
