White Pine County School District
Financing supports school facility improvements while generating refunding savings
Background
White Pine County School District (the “District”) is a rural school district located in eastern Nevada that serves approximately 1,200 students across six schools, including those in the City of Ely. To fund school facility improvements and refund outstanding debt, the District undertook a $13,680,000 General Obligation (Limited Tax) School Improvement and Refunding Bonds, Series 2026 (the “Bonds”) transaction.
On June 11, 2026, Baird served as sole managing underwriter on the sale of the Bonds. The Bonds carried an underlying rating of A from S&P and benefited from the Nevada Permanent School Fund Guarantee (the “PSF Guarantee”), which provided an enhanced rating of AAA, also from S&P.
Opportunity
The District sought a financing solution that would achieve multiple objectives through a single transaction. Approximately $10.4 million of bond proceeds funded the acquisition, construction, improvement and equipping of school facilities, while the refunding component refinanced the District’s outstanding General Obligation (Limited Tax) School Improvement Bonds (PSF Guaranteed) Series 2014.
Solution & Implementation
Baird worked collaboratively with the District and its financing team to develop a financing strategy aligned with the District's capital improvement and debt management objectives.
During the week of pricing, market conditions remained uncertain amidst global instability and the Iran war, despite widespread assumptions that a US-Iran deal was on the near-term horizon. On June 11, 2026, the day of pricing, the market experienced volatility and the Municipal Market Data (“MMD”) yield curve rose by as much as 5 basis points in the middle of the curve.
The bonds were structured with current interest serial bonds that mature from 2027 through 2046. During the marketing process, Baird emphasized the District's sound financial management, conservative debt profile and the additional security provided by the PSF Guarantee, helping position the Bonds for a broad investor base.
Ultimately, despite the volatile market conditions, the District’s bond sale was successful and the Bonds were more than 2 times oversubscribed (with select maturities experiencing oversubscription levels up to 5 times). This demand allowed Baird to adjust the scale for the Bonds by 3 to 5 basis points lower in years 2028 through 2039.
Results & Impact
The transaction was the first negotiated bond sale completed by a school district in Nevada since June 2020 and achieved favorable results in a volatile market.
The District’s financing objectives were met by providing $10.4 million for new money projects and, by completing the refunding, the District was able to further simplify its debt profile and save its taxpayers over $100,000.
