Which student count we use, and why

In short

• Students counted on Sept. 15, 2026: 41,143.¹
• Students counted in fall 2025: 41,862.²
• Students in 2024-25, in the district’s audit: 42,608. That was the peak so far.³
• Our rule: money for a school year is divided by the count from that same year.

Why there is more than one number

• Forecasts. Before each school year, the district plans on a guess. For 2026-27 the guess was 41,841. About 700 fewer students came.¹ See Budget forecasts.
• Two counts. The district and its demographer report different numbers. For 2026-27 the demographer’s report says 41,116. The district’s Sept. 15 count says 41,143.¹
• The state’s counts. The state uses its own counts. For 2024-25 the state’s money data uses 42,507.⁴ We use the state’s count when we compare districts, so every district is counted the same way.

Our rules

What we divide	Count we use	Example
Money for one school year	That year’s real count	2025-26 interest ÷ 41,862 = about $2,420 per student (our math).2 See Interest.
Money owed from now on	Today’s count, 41,143	Interest still owed ÷ 41,143. See The short version.
The 2024-25 audit’s debt	The audit’s 2024-25 count, 42,608	See Debt.3
Comparing districts	The state’s count for each district	See Spending per student.
Budgets and plans	The forecast, called a forecast	Never used to divide money.

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

The other side

• The choice changes the answer a little. $101.2 million of interest is about $2,420 per student with the fall 2025 count. With the Sept. 2026 count it is about $2,460.² Neither is wrong. We pick the same year so the numbers match up.
• Two studies give two counts for fall 2025. The 2025 study says 41,862. The 2026 study counts 41,953 on Oct. 31, 2025.⁵ We use 41,862 for all our fall 2025 math, so the pages match each other.
• Fewer students can make per-student costs look higher. Enrollment has dipped since 2024-25.³¹ Costs that don’t shrink with enrollment, like loan payments, then look bigger per student.

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: We added the 2026 study’s count for fall 2025 and say which count we use.
• Nov. 2, 2026: We changed wording so it says no more than our sources show.
• Nov. 2, 2026: Added questions to ask.

What we still don’t know

• The state’s official count for 2026-27. It comes out later in the school year.

Questions to ask

• When will the state post the official student count for this year?
• Which count does the district use to build its budget?

Footnotes

1. Board packet, Oct. 15, 2026, page 151: 41,841 projected vs. 41,143 actual on 9/15/26. Packet page 151. The demographer’s 2026 report, board packet Oct. 29, 2026, page 93, uses 41,116. Packet page 93. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Demographer’s study in the board packet, Oct. 23, 2025, page 72: enrollment grew “to 41,862 in 2025–26.” Packet page 72. Our math: $101,215,314 ÷ 41,862 = $2,418; ÷ 41,143 = $2,460. ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. Leander ISD, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report 2025, ten-year statistical table, students in 2024-25: 42,608. ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Texas Education Agency, PEIMS financial data, 2024-25: 42,507 students, the “fall survey enrollment” column in the state’s summarized financial data, the count used in the state’s per-student financial figures. ↩

5. Demographer’s 2026 report, board packet Oct. 29, 2026, page 82, “District Enrollment (10/31/2025)”: 41,953. Packet page 82. ↩