The 2023 bond: what voters saw vs. what was built

Key facts

• Approved by voters: $762.82 million (May 2023)¹
• Spent by Oct. 31, 2025: $287.3 million, about 37%²
• Not yet borrowed: $200.7 million (after Aug. 2026)³
• Construction contracts passed on consent: 20, worth $303.2 million (Nov. 2022–Apr. 2026)⁴
• Bond interest spent but not yet earned: about $16.1 million⁵
• Monthly bond status reports in board packets since Dec. 2025: none found⁶

In short

In May 2023, voters approved a $762.8 million bond for schools.¹ Some big projects grew, and other promised projects were cut to pay for them.⁷⁸ By Oct. 2025, about 37% had been spent.²

Why it matters to your tax bill: the debt part of your tax repays this bond. Its size and timing shape that part of your bill.

Related: bond 2023 repurposing · early childhood center · construction contracts · new and relocated schools · new schools after forecast

The 30-second version

In 2023, voters approved a $762.8 million bond for schools. That is roughly $18,000 per student (our math, using the district enrollment of 42,415 in 2022-23, the school year voters approved it).¹ The list of projects they saw was a starting plan.

Since then:

• Big buildings grew. Leander High’s first phase went from a $23.5 million placeholder to $55.25 million.⁷ The early-childhood center went from a $37 million conversion to a $64 million new building.⁸
• The money moved within the bond plan. Money meant to fix up older schools was zeroed out or cut.⁸
• Most big contracts passed on the consent list, usually with little or no talk. Big construction prices (guaranteed maximum prices) usually went on the consent agenda.⁴
• The program spent more slowly than the early borrowing plan. The plan was to sell all of it by 2025. By Oct. 2025, 37% was spent.²

Think of a home remodel. The kitchen costs more than its placeholder, so the bathroom work waits. The new price still needs to fit the total plan.

What changed, project by project

Project	On the voter list	Now	Change	Who paid
Leander High, Phase 1	$23.5M placeholder	$55.25M	+135%	$32.3M of bond interest earnings7
Early childhood center	About $37M conversion	$64.0M new building	+73%	One $37M repurpose line zeroed, another cut to $13.7M8
Cedar Park HS modernization	$51.57M	$58.29M	+13%	Funded in part by $7.17 million the board moved from the Vista Ridge HS project (Jan. 23, 2025, 7-0)9
Early College HS	$43.99M building	Cut before the vote to $6.99M; now $10.76M	+54% on the cut figure	Other funds and transfers10

Spending money that isn’t there yet

The bond plan counts on interest earned while bond cash sits in the bank. As of Oct. 31, 2025, the plan had promised $16.07 million more interest to projects than it had earned.⁵ If interest earnings fall short, the gap would have to be covered another way, such as cutting something else.

How it was approved

District public records list American Constructors on the active award for the 2023 building-program construction-manager pool, LISD 24015C28, with a start date of Aug. 24, 2023 and an end date of June 30, 2028. It is also on LISD 24026C28 for the early childhood center. These award rows do not give the contract dollars.¹¹

• From Nov. 2022 to Apr. 2026, 20 guaranteed-price contracts worth $303.2 million passed on consent.⁴
• This is not new. Consent approvals of construction contracts started by 2019. About 66% of contract dollars since 2019 went through consent, possibly up to 70%.¹²
• District policy calls for a monthly change-order log. None appears in any board packet from 2023 to Oct. 2026.¹³ It may be delivered outside the packet.

New elementary schools No. 31 and No. 32

Voters approved both schools in 2023. As of Oct. 29, 2026, the board had not voted to build either one in full.¹⁴ On Oct. 1, 2026, staff gave the board a report only. The slides said “No action on final construction authorization is requested today.”¹⁴ A later workshop report describes a planned Nov. 19 price decision and questions about waiting. That report rests on video until minutes post; see new schools after forecast.

The newest public money figures are a year old (Oct. 31, 2025):¹⁵

School	Budget	Spent or under contract	Share
No. 31	$70.7M	$5.65M	8.0%
No. 32	$79.2M	$3.58M	4.5%

Together, about $140.6 million was not yet spent or under contract.¹⁵

Counterweights: Voters approved these schools. A construction vote is still expected. These are early, design-stage numbers from a year ago, and real costs may differ.

The district’s side

• The Leander High figure was called a “placeholder” in the public packet before the vote.⁷
• The Leander High interest move was a separate vote, 7–0, not a consent item.
• Texas bonds may be approved for broad purposes. Whether a transfer fits this ballot and the law depends on the exact language and the rules for the change.
• Finished 2017-bond projects came in under budget, and money was returned. See how bonds work.

What we still don’t know

• Cost estimates made before the May 2023 vote for the biggest buildings.
• Current estimates for new elementary schools No. 31 and No. 32 (about $140.6M still uncommitted as of Oct. 31, 2025).¹⁶¹⁵
• Whether monthly status reports are still made. We found none in board packets after Dec. 2025.

See also the $161 million repurposing line, bond cash waiting, Who builds our schools, consent votes, new and relocated schools and bond elections.

Questions to ask

• What is the latest project-by-project spending and contract report for the building program?
• When will the construction prices for both elementary schools come before the board?
• Which proposed projects lost money when another building plan changed?

Changes to this page

• Nov. 5, 2026: We added the contract-award numbers, fixed the year matched to the per-student divisor and updated the school-building watch item. The early spending figures remain dated, not current totals.
• Oct. 28, 2026: Added a related-page link and checked the bond authorization and unissued-balance sources.

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

Footnotes

1. Bond status report as of Oct. 31, 2025, totals row, $762,820,000 (packet p.357); Series 2026A official statement: authorized May 6, 2023. Students: Leander ISD, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report 2025, ten-year statistical table, 2022-23: 42,415. Our math: $762,820,000 ÷ 42,415 = $17,985. ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. 2023 bond status report as of Oct. 31, 2025: spent $287,301,151 of $786,393,844 budget (incl. interest and other money); $136.7M under contract. Packet p.357. Issue plan: Feb. 16, 2023 adviser slide, “Issuances 2023–2025.” Packet p.70. ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. Series 2026A official statement, Authorized but Unissued Bonds: $200,713,430 left. ↩

4. Our review of board minutes and contract memos: 20 consent GMPs, $303,239,162. ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. Oct. 31, 2025 status report, interest row: budget exceeds earnings by $16,069,837. Packet p.357. ↩ ↩²

6. Our review of board packets, Dec. 2025–Oct. 2026. ↩

7. Feb. 16, 2023 packet p.37 (“A placeholder for Phase One construction”), packet p.37; $23,500,000 for phase 1 construction: Feb. 1, 2024 packet p.119, packet. Later GMPs 1–4 total $55,248,936. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

8. Oct. 31, 2025 status report p.357; Feb. 16, 2023 list pp.76–82. See early childhood center. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

9. Status report p.355; Jan. 23, 2025 packet p.43. Packet. ↩

10. Feb. 16, 2023 packet p.83; status report p.355. ↩

11. District public records, contract-award export: active rows for American Constructors LLC, LISD 24015C28, “CMAR Pool 2023 Building Program” (Aug. 24, 2023–June 30, 2028), and LISD 24026C28, “CMAR Early Childhood Center” (Dec. 14, 2023–June 30, 2028). The same pool row also names Bartlett Cocke and Joeris. An award row is not an executed contract or a payment total. ↩

12. Our review, Feb. 2019–Apr. 2026: $348.8M of $527.8M in contract dollars (66.1%) is confirmed as passed on consent. One more Nov. 10, 2022 contract ($19.9M) may also have been; counting it gives 69.9%. ↩

13. Policy CV(LOCAL), issued Feb. 17, 2022; full-text search of 2023–2026 packets. ↩

14. Oct. 1, 2026 board item 7.C.3, “Discussion Item/Report Only” (BoardBook 14491668); slide 32 (BoardBook 14491669); draft minutes, no motion (BoardBook 14505733). Oct. 15 and Oct. 29, 2026 agendas: no No. 31/#32 action item. Only construction approval on record: No. 31 GMP No. 1, $2,024,553, Nov. 2023. ↩ ↩²

15. Bond status report as of Oct. 31, 2025 (posted Dec. 11, 2025, BoardBook 3079975): No. 31 budget $70,721,262, spent $2,564,514, under contract $3,080,982; No. 32 budget $79,157,388, spent $983,161, under contract $2,600,713; together $140,649,281 not committed. No newer status report found in 2026 board agendas. ↩ ↩² ↩³

16. Status report p.357, our math. ↩