School capacity

Key facts

• Elementary schools: 30, with room for 25,157 students¹
• How full they are in 2026-27: 68%¹
• Small schools under 400 students now: 4²
• Board rule: under 400 students starts a formal review for closing or merging³
• Already closed: Faubion Elementary, for 2026-27 (vote Dec. 2025); students moved to Westside and Reed⁴

In short

The district has 30 elementary schools, with room for 25,157 students.¹ In 2026-27 they are about 68% full.¹ Four are under 400 students.² Under the board’s rule, that starts a review for closing or merging.³

Why it matters to your tax bill: schools with many empty seats still carry many of the same costs to run and keep up.

Related: closures · enrollment forecasts · new and relocated schools · closure savings

A school has a set number of seats. That is its capacity. Use tells you how many seats have a student in them.

Think of a bus. A bus with 60 seats and 30 riders is half empty. It still costs the same to run.

How full the schools are

These numbers come from the district’s outside enrollment firm, PASA. The 2036-37 numbers are projections.

Level	Schools	Seats	Full in 2026-27	Full in 2036-37
Elementary	30	25,157	68%	76%
Middle	9	11,514	86%	76%
High	6	14,900	90%	78%

Sources: PASA study tables for elementary, middle and high schools.¹⁵⁶ The middle and high school percents leave out students in programs with no set capacity. The totals and percents are our math.

Crowded and empty at once

The district is not just too big or too small. Some schools are packed while others are half empty.

By 2036-37, PASA projects eight elementary schools over 100% full.¹ Tarvin is the most crowded at 187%. Bagdad is next at 137%. Hisle and North are at 127%.

Add up the extra students at the crowded schools. That is about 1,775. Now add up the empty seats at the others. That is about 7,760. Both are our math.¹

Some parts of the district have fewer school-age children than before.⁷ A seat in one place does not help a child across town.

Empty seats now, crowding later. Elementary schools are 68% full in 2026-27. By 2036-37, PASA projects about 7,760 empty seats at some schools, while others are over capacity by about 1,775 students in total, in the areas still growing.⁸

Small schools

These elementary schools have fewer than 400 students in 2026-27:²

School	Students	Seats
River Ridge	301	842
Steiner Ranch	385	879
Grandview Hills	390	561
Naumann	396	860

By 2031-32, PASA projects three more under 400: Cox, Giddens and Cypress.²

The board’s rule

In Dec. 2025, the board approved a rule for small schools. The vote was 6–1.³

• Under 500 students: the school gets a first round of staff changes.
• Under 400 students: “the district begins a formal review process for potential consolidation.”

Consolidation means two schools merge into one building.

Faubion

Faubion Elementary was one of the small schools on the list. On Dec. 17, 2025, the board voted 5–2 to merge it with Westside.⁴ In Jan. 2026, the board voted 6–1 to hire an architect firm to plan a new use for the Faubion building.⁹ In Feb. 2026, it voted 5–0 on new school zones for Faubion students.¹⁰

The rule does not close a school by itself. Each step is a separate board vote.

The other side

• The rule starts a review, not a closing. Under 400 students, “the district begins a formal review process for potential consolidation.”³ Closing a school takes a separate board vote.⁴
• A small school can still be close to home for its families. This page does not weigh that against cost.
• Forecasts can miss in either direction. Past forecasts ran high. See enrollment forecasts.

Questions to ask

• Has the district had an outside review of savings from past school closings?
• How does the board decide when to change attendance lines?

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: We removed one line about a planned school building.
• Nov. 2, 2026: We re-checked every figure. We shortened one quote and made the source links plainer.
• Nov. 2, 2026: Rewrote the questions to ask so each is open, neutral and addressed to the public body.
• Nov. 2, 2026: Added questions to ask.
• Nov. 2, 2026: We checked every figure against its source. We reworded the other-side points so they stick to what the sources show.

What you can do or watch next

• Watch the yearly enrollment count each fall (see enrollment update oct 2026).
• Watch board agendas for any school named under the small-school rule.
• You can speak at a board meeting before any merger vote.

What we still don’t know

• We have not seen an outside check of the savings from past school closings.

See also Enrollment forecasts, Early childhood center, new and relocated schools, modernize before closures and charters.

Numbers marked “our math” are our estimates, not official figures. The notes show the inputs and the steps.

Footnotes

1. PASA, Fall 2026 demographic study, in the board packet for Oct. 29, 2026, pages 100–101, “Projected Enrollment and Utilization by Elementary School Campus.” Packet page 100. Our math adds the 30 campuses. Capacity 25,157. 2026-27 enrollment 17,213 (68%). 2036-37 projection 19,172 (76%). Over-capacity students and empty seats are summed school by school. Over 100% in 2036-37: Tarvin 187%, Bagdad 137%, Hisle 127%, North 127%, Faubion ECC 113%, Akin 110%, Mason 110%, Parkside 104%. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. Same pages. “Current” (2026-27) column. 2031-32 projections: Cox 330, Giddens 351, Cypress 395. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Board packet, Dec. 11, 2025, page 252: enrollment thresholds. Under 500 starts Phase 1 staffing steps. Under 400, “the district begins a formal review process for potential consolidation.” Packet page 252. Approved 6–1. Minutes. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

4. Board minutes, Dec. 17, 2025: “approve the consolidation of Faubion Elementary with Westside Elementary” with a transition plan for 2026-27. Approved 5–2. Minutes. ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. PASA, Fall 2026 demographic study, Oct. 29, 2026 packet, page 104, “Projected Enrollment and Utilization by Middle School Campus”: capacity 11,514; projected total 9,927 (2026-27) and 8,731 (2036-37), each including 10 students in programs with no set capacity. Packet page 104. ↩

6. Same study, page 107, “Projected Enrollment and Utilization by High School Campus”: capacity 14,900; projected total 13,976 (2026-27) and 12,217 (2036-37), each including 524 students in programs with no set capacity. Packet page 107. ↩

7. Leander ISD, Official Statement, Series 2026A, appendix text: “Slowing enrollment is attributed to the decrease in school aged children in the central and southern parts of the District.” On EMMA. ↩

8. PASA, Fall 2026 demographic study, Oct. 29, 2026 packet. Our math. ↩

9. Board minutes, Jan. 22, 2026: “approve Pfluger Architects for the repurposing of Faubion Elementary.” Approved 6–1. Minutes. ↩

10. Board minutes, Feb. 5, 2026: attendance zones for students “currently zoned to Faubion Elementary,” scenario B. Approved 5–0, two absent. Minutes. ↩