Lee Waskom, finance director for the Natchitoches Parish School District, brought some good news before the board at its Feb. 11 meeting about the district’s most recent bond rating through S&P. District 9 and District 7 were an A minus and they are now A Districts. The Provencal District went from a “Triple B Plus” to an “A” District.

Waskom said it’s very unusual to go up two movement like this. The S&P really feels that the board has gone to a proactive approach instead of a reactive one regarding budgeting. They’ve seen that the district has done well in managing its declining enrollment at times and and making adjustments.

They were very happy that the district dedicated 10 percent of the reserves that were passed in August of 2023. The reserves are actually at 17 percent right now, but Waskom told the board this was a real key to the grading increase. According to Waskom, the only way to really get to an “A” is to expand the economy by developing things that the City doesn’t have, attracting industry, etc…

Overall, the S&P understands that Natchitoches Parish and the state of Louisiana is struggling. The grading increase the parish received shows they’re very proud and consider the district as stable.

“That’s a big deal when we’re going to raise bonds in the future,” he shared.