Why is Leander ISD's net position below zero?

In short

• Leander ISD’s net position was about −$172 million on June 30, 2025. A year earlier it was about −$87 million.¹
• The audit names the main cause: the district’s share of state-run pension and retiree health liabilities.¹
• The district’s audit says these do not affect its financial stability. That is the district’s own view.¹

Related: teacher retirement · retiree health care · debt · growing loans · what the district owns

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

How it works

• Net position is what the district owns minus what it owes.²
• Fund balance is a different measure. The district’s funds ended the year with about $631 million in fund balance.¹

What the numbers show

June 30	2024	2025
Net investment in capital assets	$262,300,571	$140,492,504
Restricted	$106,005,702	$100,456,401
Unrestricted	−$455,752,676	−$412,632,002
Total net position	−$87,446,403	−$171,683,097

Source: the district’s 2025 audit (ACFR).²

What drives the gap

The audit says the unrestricted gap “includes” these long-term debts:²³⁴

• Teacher pension: the district’s share of the state Teacher Retirement System’s unfunded pension, $133,519,846.
• Retiree health: its share of the state retiree health plan’s unfunded cost, $88,859,459.
• Interest built up on growing loans (the audit calls them capital appreciation bonds; the built-up interest is “accretion”), $363,488,587 on June 30, 2025. Add the $30,761,453 still owed of the original loans, and the growing loans stood at $394,250,040. That is the same figure as on growing loans.⁵
  • Which loans: the audit lists eight bond series with this built-up interest. They come due between 2026 and 2044. Two are refinancings of older loans: 2023A and 2025B.⁵⁶ See the table below.
  • Why another page says $536 million: that figure is from the state Bond Review Board. It counts every payment still to come, including interest not yet built up. The $363.5 million here counts only interest built up so far. The state also counts $26.7 million of original loans still owed, not the audit’s $30.8 million. Neither source explains the difference.⁷

Growing loans by series

Series	Built-up value, June 30, 2025	Due
2016A	$99,262,087	2026–2044
2016	$88,021,719	2026–2030
2021B	$84,919,699	2026–2031
2025B (refinancing)	$21,955,298	2026–2029
2023A (refinancing)	$20,369,388	2026–2032
2020B	$7,462,983	2026–2030
2020C	$1,337,931	2026
One other 2025 series	$70,920,935	2026–2035
Total	$394,250,040

Source: the district’s 2025 audit (ACFR), Note 6.⁶

Why the total gap grew

The changes below are our math from the table.²⁸

• Net investment in capital assets fell about $121.8 million. The audit does not explain this drop.
• The unrestricted gap shrank about $43.1 million.
• Restricted amounts fell about $5.5 million.
• Together, the total fell about $84.2 million.

The other side

• The audit’s stability statement is the district’s view. The audit says the pension and retiree health liabilities “do not affect the financial stability of the District” and that it is “reflecting its portion of the liabilities that the State of Texas manages.”¹
• The built-up interest is owed on growing loans the district sold. See growing loans and growing loan history.

Questions to ask

• How does the district explain the fall in net investment in capital assets while its buildings grew?

What we still don’t know

• The audit does not split the unrestricted gap among its parts.

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: Rewrote the questions to ask so each is open, neutral and addressed to the public body.
• Nov. 2, 2026: Listed the growing loans by series, with when each comes due.
• Nov. 2, 2026: Used the site’s name for these bonds, listed when they come due, and explained why another page shows a larger figure.
• Nov. 2, 2026: New page.

Footnotes

1. Leander ISD, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) for the year ended June 30, 2025, Management’s Discussion and Analysis, Financial Highlights, p.7: net deficit $171,683,097; “The main cause of the deficit is the net pension liability and net other post-employment benefits liabilities. The liabilities do not affect the financial stability of the District…”; deficit increased $84,236,694 from $87,446,403; governmental funds combined ending fund balances $631,380,891. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

2. Same ACFR, MD&A net position table, p.10: net investment in capital assets $140,492,504 (2024: $262,300,571); restricted $100,456,401 ($106,005,702); unrestricted $(412,632,002) ($(455,752,676)); total $(171,683,097) ($(87,446,403)). “The balance of unrestricted net position is a deficit of $412,632,002. This balance includes the net pension and net OPEB liabilities as well as accretion payable.” ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Same ACFR, Statement of Net Position (Exhibit A-1): net pension liability $133,519,846; net OPEB liability $88,859,459. ↩

4. Same ACFR, MD&A, p.14: accretion payable $442,206,058 at start of year, $363,488,587 at end; Note: “Accretion on capital appreciation bonds” $363,488,587. ↩

5. Same ACFR, Note 6, “Capital Appreciation Bonds,” p.47: “The bonds’ maturity dates vary through fiscal year 2044”; eight series listed; totals at June 30, 2025: accreted value $394,250,040, principal $30,761,453, accretion $363,488,587; Series 2016A maturity dates 2026-2044. Check: 30,761,453 + 363,488,587 = 394,250,040. ↩ ↩²

6. Leander ISD ACFR 2025, Note 6, “Capital Appreciation Bonds,” p.47: accreted value and maturity dates by series (2025B $21,955,298, 2026-2029; one other 2025 series $70,920,935, 2026-2035; 2023A $20,369,388, 2026-2032; 2021B $84,919,699, 2026-2031; 2020C $1,337,931, 2026; 2020B $7,462,983, 2026-2030; 2016A $99,262,087, 2026-2044; 2016 $88,021,719, 2026-2030; total $394,250,040). Series 2025B refunded 2015B bonds (ACFR transmittal letter p.viii; Note 6 p.45). Texas Bond Review Board by-issuance data, fiscal 2025: Series 2023A and 2025B purpose “Refund”; 2023A closed Aug. 22, 2023. ↩ ↩²

7. Texas Bond Review Board, local government debt data (data.texas.gov 6d42-4z7a), Leander ISD, fiscal 2025, capital appreciation bonds: principal $26,687,419; principal plus interest $536,057,631. ↩

8. Our math. 140,492,504 − 262,300,571 = −121,808,067; −412,632,002 − (−455,752,676) = +43,120,674; 100,456,401 − 106,005,702 = −5,549,301; sum = −84,236,694. ↩