...S&P Global Ratings assigned its '##+' long-term rating and '##-' underlying rating to East Porter County School Corp., Ind.'s series 2018 first mortgage bonds. At the same time, we affirmed our '##+' and '##-' ratings on bonds issued by and on behalf of the school corporation. The outlook on all ratings is stable. The '##+' rating is based on our state credit enhancement criteria, and reflects our assessment of the strength of the Indiana state aid intercept structure (as found in Section 20-48-1-11 of the Indiana Code). All school corporations can benefit from this statute without specific state qualification. However, in the absence of certain state aid coverage levels and bond terms, the statute may not provide sufficiently strong support in increasing the likelihood of payment in full and on time. For these reasons, we review state aid coverage and bond terms (see the report on Indiana School Corp., published May 16, 2017, on RatingsDirect). Annual state aid appropriated and allocated...
