The 2023 bond's $161 million 'repurposing' line

Key facts

• Shown to voters: four conversions of existing buildings, $161 million¹
• Used instead: $64.0 million for a new early childhood center (ECC)¹
• The four conversions, Oct. 31, 2025: $0 spent on any of them¹
• Moved with no vote we could find: $1,427,564, in Sept. 2024²

In short

Voters were shown $161 million to convert four buildings the district already had.¹ Instead, $64.0 million went to a new early childhood center.¹ As of Oct. 2025, the four conversions had spent nothing.¹

Why it matters to your tax bill: this is bond money your debt tax repays, so it matters what it buys.

Related: 2023 bond · early childhood center · closures

Layer 1: The short version

Before the May 2023 bond vote, the district showed a $161 million “repurposing” line. It had four jobs. All four meant converting buildings the district already had.¹ See The 2023 bond.

In Oct. 2023 the board voted to use $60 million of it for a new early childhood center. In Apr. 2025 it added $4 million.³⁴ The center opened in Aug. 2026.⁵ See early childhood center.

As of Oct. 31, 2025, none of the four conversions had spent any money.¹

Think of a jar labeled “fix up the spare rooms.” About two-fifths of it went to build a new garage. The label was loose. But the list you showed the family said spare rooms.

Layer 2: Promised vs. now

Shown to voters	Promised	Oct. 31, 2025	Spent
Early childhood center, north (convert a campus)	$37.0M	$36.66M	$0
Early childhood center, central (convert an elementary)	$37.0M	$13.66M	$0
Professional learning center (convert an elementary)	$37.0M	$0	$0
LEO campus / New Hope High move	$50.0M	$45.25M	$0
Not on the list: new early childhood center	$0	$64.0M	budget

Sources: district status reports.¹⁶

How the money moved.

• Oct. 26, 2023: the board voted to use $60 million for the new center. The vote was 5–1, one absent.³
• By Apr. 30, 2024: the move was on the books. The learning center line was $0. The central line was $14 million. The new center had $60 million.⁶
• Between Aug. 31 and Sept. 30, 2024: four lines were each cut a little. In all, $1,427,564 came out. We could not find a vote for it.²
• Apr. 10, 2025: the board added $4 million to the new center. The vote was 4–1, two absent.⁴
• Since Oct. 2025: we found no newer status report in 2026 board packets.⁷

Mixed messages to voters. The flyer said “renovations of existing district facilities.” It listed early childhood centers, the LEO center, New Hope High “and/or” a learning center.⁸ The district’s project notes put the $50 million on a different job than the board’s February 2023 list did.⁹ The notes also said the items were changed after Apr. 4, 2023 “to keep options open.”⁹

What we still don’t know

• We have not seen a public document explaining why the list changed.

Layer 3: The record

The $1,427,564. Three lines (north, central and the new center) each lost $337,681. The LEO line lost $414,521.² This happened between the Aug. 31 and Sept. 30, 2024 reports. The only bond votes from Aug. to Dec. 2024 were two Nov. 7 items. One was $192,098 of 2017 savings for vehicles. The other was $800,000 from the 2023 bus line for fuel tanks. Neither covers this.²¹⁰

Where did it go? The Sept. 30 report shows a new “Project Savings” line of $4,960,557. Our best guess is the cuts went there. That is our inference. No report says so.¹¹

Three numbers for what is left. They fit together. The ECC page says $101 million: that is $161 million minus the first $60 million. An Apr. 2025 board memo says about $97 million: that also takes out the extra $4 million. The Oct. 2025 report adds up to $95.57 million: that also takes out the $1,427,564. The extra $4 million came from the LEO line. Our math.¹²

What comes next. On Oct. 1, 2026, staff asked to use job-order contracts to convert Faubion Elementary with this money. The district’s Faubion web page lists the budget as “To be determined.”¹³ As of Oct. 2026, that page says the plan is to put two schools together at the Faubion site: Early College High and New Hope High. This is a staff plan, not a board vote. The budget is still “To be determined.”¹⁴ In Jan. 2026 the board hired Pfluger Architects for Faubion.¹⁵

Compare: new schools kept their numbers. Elementary No. 31 ($71.4M) and No. 32 ($79.9M) add up exactly to the $151.4M shown to voters. Both open in Aug. 2028. No. 32 is now planned as the new home of Mason Elementary, moving there. That is an announced plan, not a board vote.¹⁶

Recorded votes. The minutes name the members in their public roles. We give the totals here; the linked minutes have the full roll calls.

• Oct. 26, 2023 ($60M for the new center): 5–1, one absent.³
• Apr. 10, 2025 (+$4M): 4–1, two absent.⁴
• Jan. 22, 2026 (Faubion architect): 6–1.¹⁵

The rule. Bond money must be used for the purposes voters approved. Texas Education Code §45.1105 adds another route after money is left over. If the original purpose has already been accomplished or has been abandoned, some leftover money can go to another purpose. That route needs two separate votes at a meeting held only for the change, with advance notice and a chance for public comment.¹⁷

We did not find a board record using that special leftover-money process for the changes described above. The original repurposing category remains unfinished. The public reports instead describe transfers within the broader building program. Whether the particular ballot language and abandonment requirements allow each change is a legal question, not something the money table alone answers.

Labels. Only one report names each $37M line. Later reports call them all “Repurpose Elementary.” We matched them by that report.⁶

The district’s side

Staff and the bond committee recommended the new center in public. The Oct. 2023 memo called it a use of repurposing money.¹⁸ The project notes said the items were kept open on purpose.⁹

The award row confirms who the district selected for the early childhood center: American Constructors under LISD 24026C28, active from Dec. 14, 2023 to June 30, 2028. It does not supply the agreement or its full cost.¹⁹

Questions to ask

• Where is the latest report showing transfers and spending for each repurposing line?
• Which legal basis did the district use to change the purposes of the project lines?
• What will the work at the former Faubion Elementary site cost?

Changes to this page

• Nov. 5, 2026: We clarified the bond-law limits, shortened the vote details and added the early-childhood award record.

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

Footnotes

1. Board packet, Dec. 11, 2025, bond status report as of Oct. 31, 2025, p.357. Packet. Our math. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

2. Bond status reports as of Aug. 31 and Sept. 30, 2024 (BoardBook 649171 and 655304); board motions Aug.–Dec. 2024. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Board minutes, Oct. 26, 2023 (minutes). ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Board packet, Apr. 10, 2025, p.68 (packet); minutes. ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. District ECC page (leanderisd.org); Oct. 31, 2025 report. ↩

6. Status report as of Apr. 30, 2024, p.124 (packet); Jan. 31, 2025 report p.7 (PDF). Line labels from the Jan. 2025 report. ↩ ↩² ↩³

7. BoardBook packets Jan.–Oct. 2026; latest report is the Dec. 11, 2025 packet. ↩

8. Bond 2023 Informational Flyer. ↩

9. District “Detailed Project Notes,” linked from the bond 2023 page; board list, Feb. 16, 2023 (BoardBook 569193). ↩ ↩² ↩³

10. Board minutes, Nov. 7, 2024, items 1.a and 1.b, both 7–0. Minutes. ↩

11. Status reports Sept. 30 and Oct. 31, 2024 (BoardBook 655304); Jan. 31, 2025 report p.7. Our inference. ↩

12. Board packet, Apr. 10, 2025, p.68 and p.76 (“Future Repurposing Projects [Remaining] $97,000,000”), packet; Oct. 31, 2025 report p.357; district ECC page. $161M − $60M = $101M; − $4M = $97M; − $1,427,564 = $95,572,436. That the ECC page is out of date is our inference. ↩

13. Job-order contracting request: board packet, Oct. 1, 2026, p.7 (packet). Budget “To be determined”: district Faubion page (leanderisd.org/bond_faubion, read Oct. 28, 2026). ↩

14. District Faubion bond page, read Oct. 28, 2026. ↩

15. Board minutes, Jan. 22, 2026. ↩ ↩²

16. District Elementary No. 31 and No. 32 pages; project notes. ↩

17. Texas Education Code §45.1105(a)(3). Texas Education Code §45.1105(a)–(c): public-purpose limits and the separate-vote, special-meeting and public-comment process. Texas statutes, ch. 45. ↩

18. Board packet, Oct. 26, 2023, p.158 (packet). ↩

19. District public records, contract-award export: active row for American Constructors LLC, LISD 24026C28, “CMAR Early Childhood Center,” Dec. 14, 2023–June 30, 2028. This is an award listing, not an executed contract. ↩