Transaction Details

Pacific Grove Unified School District

Municipal

Lead Bookrunner

A Strategic Financing Plan Supporting Facilities and Technology Investments

Background
Pacific Grove Unified School District (the District), located in Monterey County, serves approximately 1,800 students across grades TK–12. Its educational facilities include two elementary schools, a middle school, a high school, and a continuation high school. To advance its long-term facilities plan and maintain strong stewardship of voter-approved bond authorizations, the District sought to issue new general obligation bonds that would support technology infrastructure upgrades and facility modernization efforts.

Opportunity
The District pursued a coordinated financing to provide new capital under its 2014 and 2020 bond authorizations. The objective was to fund technology improvements, learning environments, and prioritized facility needs while taking advantage of favorable market conditions and the District’s strong AA credit rating.

Stable investor demand and constructive market tone created an advantageous window for the District to access capital efficiently. With clear project needs and broad community support behind the prior bond measures, the District aimed to secure competitive borrowing costs across each series.

Solution & Implementation
Baird’s California K-12 Public Finance group partnered with the District as sole managing underwriter to structure and market two new-money general obligation bond series: the $2,250,000 Election of 2014, Series E (Ed-Tech Bonds) and the $8,760,000 Election of 2020 Series D Bonds. Together, these transactions provided funding for voter-approved technology upgrades and facility construction projects across the District.

Both series attracted strong investor participation, supported by effective pre-marketing efforts and the District’s solid credit profile. Longer-dated maturities benefited from pricing improvements of roughly 2-3 basis points, helping reduce the District’s long-term borrowing costs. Shorter maturities also repriced favorably, tightening by an additional 3-5 basis points during the order period.

These results demonstrated broad investor confidence in the District’s financial position and affirmed the effectiveness of the transaction structure. The coordinated execution allowed the District to capitalize on favorable conditions, secure competitive rates, and efficiently deliver the funding needed to support its capital priorities.

Results & Impact
The financing enabled Pacific Grove Unified School District to advance key technology and facilities initiatives central to its long-term facilities plan. The Series E and Series D Bonds provided necessary resources for modernization and instructional improvements, ensuring continued progress on voter-approved projects. The successful pricing across both series reflected disciplined execution, strong investor demand, and the District’s commitment to responsible financial management. The outcome further demonstrates Baird’s ability to deliver tailored, cost-effective financing solutions that help California K–12 districts meet their capital and educational objectives.