Bonds Upgrade Prompts $250M Pflugerville ISD Debt Issue

PFLUGERVILLE, TEXAS — Pflugerville ISD's bond rating recently was upgraded to AA+, prompting a sale of $250 million in public debt from last year's election for school construction and purchase of school buses, officials said.

The ratings house Standard & Poor's upgraded the district's general obligation debt rating from AA to AA+ last month, citing the district's strong financial management practices and the strength of the local economy among other factors, officials explained.

“This rating is a testament to our district’s conservative handling of its budget and finances,” Pflugerville ISD Chief Operating Officer Ed Ramos said in a prepared statement. “Our board and administration continues to maintain great stewardship over its tax dollars. This also translates to millions of dollars in interest cost savings over the life of the bonds.”

The S&P AA+ rating bond rating places PfISD among a select group of only 20 school districts in Texas with the distinction, officials added.

The rating upgrade was part of process that included the initial sale of bonds approved by voters in November 2018. District officials said the 2018 bond package, totaling $332 million, is slated to accommodate growth in student enrollment, update aging facilities and address evolving student programs.

Ramos traveled to Dallas for the sale of $250 million in general obligation bonds in late March, officials said. The district’s favorable bond rating and high demand for its bonds helped PfISD take advantage of approximately $1 million in interest savings, officials noted. The district also was able to sell the bonds with no tax rate increase to the community, district officials added.

Officials said the district already has begun moving forward to meet the growing demands that led to the 2018 bond election, putting bond monies into full planning and architectural designs on the proposed Elementary No. 22 and Middle School No. 7, as well as the full purchase of the district’s new bus fleet – 159 vehicles total.

"Some of the new vehicles have already arrived within the district," officials noted. "Blue Bird buses each equipped with air-conditioning, heating, security cameras and seatbelts, among other features. The school district has also begun advertising new bus driver and monitor positions, each full-time and starting at $19 an hour, plus benefits."

Plans for bus purchase and bolstered hiring no doubt will come as a relief to parents in the wake of the emergence of cell phone video showing overcrowded school vehicles. A student's surreptitious filming recently showed children forced to sit on the floor of a school bus given crowded conditions and the lack of available drivers to transport children to and from school.

Related story: Video Of Crammed Pflugerville ISD School Buses Outrages Parents

In the wake of the video, Pflugerville ISD acknowledged a lack of buses to fully service routes while conceding challenges related to the hiring of school bus drivers.

Remaining bonds from the 2018 Pflugrville ISD election are scheduled to be sold in late 2020, officials said.