Standard&Poor's Ratings Services has assigned its 'AA' long-term rating to Franklin, Mass.' general obligation (GO) school bonds and affirmed its 'AA' long-term ratings on the town's existing GO parity debt. The outlook is stable. Standard&Poor's has also assigned its 'SP-1+' short-term rating to Franklin's GO bond anticipation notes (BANs) payable Aug. 16, 2012. The short-term note rating reflects our revised criteria for evaluating and rating BANs. In our opinion, the town maintains a low market risk profile due to its strong legal authority to issue long-term debt to take out the notes. The town is also a frequent issuer and regularly provides ongoing disclosure to market participants. In our opinion, the long-term rating reflects the town's:
