Transaction Details

Twin Rivers Unified School District

Municipal

Lead Bookrunner

Measure G, Measure J and Measure K General Obligation Bonds (Sacramento and Placer Counties, California)

Baird’s California K-12 Public Finance group served as sole managing underwriter on three separate series for the Twin Rivers Unified School District in the aggregate amount of $98,970,000 consisting of 1) $55,000,000 General Obligation Bonds of the Elementary School Facilities Improvement District 2022 Election, Series B (Measure K); 2) $40,000,000 General Obligation Bonds, 2022 Election, Series B (Measure J); and 3) $3,970,000 General Obligation Bonds, 2006 Election, Series F (Measure G) (together, the “Bonds”). Following the issuance of the Bonds, the District will have $55,000,000 of Measure K and $40,000,000 of Measure J General Obligation Bonds remaining authorized but unissued.

The Twin Rivers Unified School District (the “District”) was established as a unified school district as of July 1, 2008, following the reorganization and unification proceedings among the Grant Joint Union High School District (“Grant JUHSD”) and three elementary school districts known as Rio Linda Union Elementary School District, North Sacramento Elementary School District, and Del Paso Heights Elementary School District (together, the “Former Elementary School Districts”). The unifying school districts have ceased to exist as legal entities, and the District has succeeded to the rights and obligations of the unifying districts. The District’s boundaries are coterminous with the boundaries of the former Grant JUHSD. There are two elementary school districts which continue to operate within District boundaries and did not participate in the unification proceedings, being Elverta Joint Elementary School District and Robla Elementary School District, whose students feed into the District for its secondary school program.

In 2016, the District undertook school facilities improvement school district formation proceedings to formally create a sub-area composed of the Former Elementary School Districts. Said area has been created and is known as the Elementary School Facilities Improvement District (the “Improvement District”). Bond elections can be held within the Improvement District and if approved, bonds can be issued which are secured solely by property taxes levied and collected within the boundaries of the Improvement District. Bonds issued on behalf of the Improvement District generally finance improvements serving the District’s elementary school sites.

The boundaries of the District encompass 81.6 square miles primarily in the northern region of the County of Sacramento (“Sacramento County”), with a portion located in the County of Placer (“Placer County,” and together with Sacramento County, the “Counties”). Most of the District’s assessed valuation is located in Sacramento County, which territory accounts for approximately 99 percent of the District’s 2024-25 assessed valuation.

The District serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelve. The District is currently operating 27 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, 4 comprehensive high schools, 3 dependent charter schools, 2 alternative high schools, an adult education school, a special education center and an independent learning center. Enrollment in the District in fiscal year 2025-26 is budgeted for approximately 25,151 students which includes preschools, adult education students and dependent charter school enrollment.

During the week of pricing (June 23rd), a brisk ~$10.5 billion calendar dominated attention. Premium bond structures inside of 15 years cleared easily, while discount term bonds in the 4% coupon range needed late-session balance work but ultimately placed. Competitive bidding was equally active, dealer balance sheets remained willing to warehouse residual discounts. Flow trading stayed muted as market participants preferred the day’s syndicate paper.

On June 24th, softer consumer-confidence data, sub-$65 crude, and a measured tone from Chair Powell supported a mild bid. The curve’s bull-flattening backdrop offered issuers a steady rate environment for pricing day-two supply. The AAA municipal market data (“MMD”) curve was unchanged from 2026 through 2055 on the day of pricing, June 24th. Relative value, typically defined as the attractiveness of tax-exempt municipal bonds compared to U.S. Treasury bonds, held firm: ratios printed near 69% in 2 years, 71% in 5 years, 77% in 10 years, and 94% in 30 years, keeping tax-exempt product attractive versus U.S. Treasury bonds, particularly inside the intermediate belly of the yield curve.

Accounts remained constructive but disciplined; they favored liquidity and visible concessions ahead of month-end CPI and a holiday-compressed settlement calendar. Insured A-category paper and high-coupon max-yield structures continued to attract oversubscription, while par bonds beyond fifteen years required price discovery. Geopolitical uncertainties kept tail-risk hedging in focus, yet cash balances appeared ample for the current slate.

The District was able to capitalize by entering the market on Tuesday, June 24th heading into a good/stable market tone. The Bonds received an A+ rating from Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings and were wrapped by Assured Guaranty bond insurance with a AA rating amidst a challenging rating environment for school districts as many school districts are facing negative watch status or have been downgraded in California due to state revenue losses and an atmosphere of declining enrollment.

Scale adjustments made on the day of pricing, despite the presence of national and global uncertainty as well as tariff implementation, benefited taxpayers by over $200,000 in interest cost savings. Baird successfully pre-marketed this transaction and garnered more than $225 million in orders for the ~$100 million of general obligation bonds offered from 30+ separate investors. The District experienced over a two (2) basis (0.02%) point reduction in interest rates from the pre-pricing discussion to the final sale. The Bonds secured lower interest rates and pricing spreads to the MMD index (and lower upfront underwriting fees which means more dollars for projects) than other similarly rated transactions that priced in the days and prior week prior to the sale.