It was all smiles at a special called board meeting on Wednesday, August 17, as the board approved an order authorizing the issuance of Blanco ISD unlimited tax school building bonds, Series 2011.

The bonds, $ 7,995,000 worth, went on sale Wednesday morning as part of a sealed bid process. Twelve brokers bid on the bonds, with the lowest bid coming in at 2.958025%.

“I can’t recall seeing a bid that low in twenty years!” said BISD financial advisor Jennifer Douglas. “When that bid came in, we were all shocked. Congratulations! That’s a credit to you.”

“Standard and Poor’s, which rated the bonds as AAA and AA-, was impressed with the district’s access to Austin and San Antonio, its very low debt burden, and a very strong 26% of operating expenditures in fund balance.”

“The BISD rating report was very strong. Blanco applied for and received a Permanent School Fund guarantee, which at AAA, is better than the federal government’s. However, investors do look at the sub-rating, which S&P designated as AA-, which is a very strong rating, particularly for a district this size.”

“Blanco bonds got a lot of attention, with the top two bidders from out of state.”

Superintendent Dr. Buck Ford said, “We are very excited and pleased with results of our bond sale. Because of this exceptional sale, our tax rate for the upcoming year will increase less than a penny. In addition, the District will save over $800,000 in interest from what we had originally anticipated.”