Pflugerville ISD officials said the district saved residents more than $1 million on future interest after it sold $250 million in general obligation bonds March 25. The sale came less than two weeks after Standard & Poor’s upgraded PfISD’s bond rating to AA+, up from an AA rating. Only 20 districts across the state hold the AA+ rating—including Austin ISD, Eanes ISD and Lake Travis ISD—according to PfISD Chief Operating Officer Ed Ramos. “[It was] a great sale for the district and a great sale for the community,” Ramos said at an April 16 special joint meeting between the PfISD board of trustees and Pflugerville City Council. Ramos traveled to Dallas on March 25-26 to complete the sale of $250 million in district general obligation funds, according to an April 16 PfISD press release. The PfISD COO said at the April 16 meeting that the district’s bonds were in high demand during the point of sale, allowing the district to take on favorable interest rates. According to the district’s press release, the sales were completed with no tax rate increase to district taxpayers. In November, district voters approved a $332 million bond package that outlines provisions for school construction and renovation, technology improvements, a transportation department and more. Two new district schools—PfISD’s seventh middle school and the 22nd elementary school—are already under planning and design. Funds from the March bond sales are going toward the design of these schools. PfISD additionally used bond funds to purchase 159 buses for its new bus fleet. Ramos on April 16 said the PfISD Transportation Department will officially launch July 1 with its own fleet and drivers. “We are currently studying the transportation-routing software to make sure we have the [bus] routes we need next year,” Ramos told trustees and council members. “Not next year, but the following year is [when] we will make the major tweaks.”