In short
New here? Read these six pages in order. Each one takes a few minutes. Together they explain how Leander ISD gets and spends money, and what it means for you.
Related: articles · index · how we check facts
- The short version: the main things we found, on one page, so you know what the rest of the site is about.
- What LISD costs your house: what the average home pays the district each year, so the big numbers have a meaning for you.
- How bonds work: how the district borrows for buildings, because most of the debt story starts here.
- Debt: how much the district owes and what that costs, so you can judge the size of it.
- Reserves and deficit: why the district spends more than it takes in, and the board’s rule to keep three months of savings. The gap was about $27 million in 2024-25, or $37.5 million without interest earned on savings.1 This drives cuts and tax choices.
- Who decides: who makes each money decision, so you know when and where to speak up.
Stuck on a word? Try the glossary. Think something is wrong? Tell us.
Browse by topic
Value for money: budget and spending
- Spending vs. results.
- What does Leander ISD’s day-to-day money buy?
- Where the 2026-27 main fund goes, by job.
- Where the money comes from.
- What Leander ISD takes in from fees and rent.
- How much interest does Leander ISD earn on its day-to-day cash?
- Spending per student: Leander and nearby districts.
- Peer districts.
- More staff, not bigger raises.
- Does closing a school save $2 million?
- The school meals fund: spending down its savings.
- Buses and routes.
- Where does Leander ISD keep its cash?
- What does Leander ISD own?
- Why is Leander ISD’s net position below zero?
- How the district hires outside firms.
- Two consultants, open questions.
- Internal auditor.
- Lawsuits and grant audits: what the district’s yearly report says.
- Missing finance reports?
Debt and other money owed
- Leander ISD school loans, explained.
- Debt.
- All school loans.
- All school loans: the full table.
- Interest.
- Growing loans.
- How the growing-loan pile was built.
- Paying loans early with cash.
- Refinancing.
- The debt fund’s cash.
- Bond ratings.
- Bond elections, 1997-2023.
- Bond adviser.
- Bond lawyers and bond sellers.
- Decision: the bond adviser’s new contract (Jan. 22, 2026).
- Decision: the 2026A loan and refinancing (May 7, 2026).
- Bond papers: Series 2026A.
- Teacher retirement: who pays and what the district owes.
- Retiree health care for school workers (TRS-Care).
- Does Leander ISD owe staff for unused leave?
- What Leander ISD owes on software subscriptions.
Taxes and fees
- Do people pay their school taxes?
- The school debt tax on an average home, 10 years.
- How the bigger homestead exemption changed a typical school tax bill.
- Farm and ranch land in Leander ISD.
Schools: students, teachers and results
- Which student count we use, and why.
- Who are Leander ISD’s students?
- Enrollment forecasts.
- Oct. 2026 enrollment report: forecast vs. real.
- The demographer.
- School capacity.
- Do Leander ISD’s middle and high schools have room?
- How big are Leander ISD’s classes?
- How did Leander ISD students do on state tests in 2025?
- K-3 reading program change.
- How many Leander ISD students take advanced classes?
- Academic program claims: IB cost and the math-exam failure rate.
- How often do Leander ISD students miss school?
- How many Leander ISD students finish high school?
- Where do Leander ISD graduates go to college in Texas?
- Who are Leander ISD’s teachers?
- How experienced are Leander ISD teachers, and how many leave?
- How has Leander ISD’s teaching staff changed, and how does it compare nearby?
- Which programs do Leander ISD teachers work in?
- How has Leander ISD’s teacher time by program changed?
Who decides
About this site
Go deeper
Every page lists its sources in the notes at the bottom. The site’s ‘Sources and methods’ page explains how we check facts.
The other side
- This site uses public records. The district’s own explanations are on each page under “The other side.”
Changes to this page
- Nov. 2, 2026: Added a list of every page, grouped by topic.
Footnotes
-
TEA PEIMS actual financial data and Leander ISD Annual Comprehensive Financial Report 2025, general fund: the fund balance fell about $27 million in 2024-25; interest earned on savings was $10.5 million. Our math; details on Reserves and deficit. ↩