Where the money comes from

Key facts

• Money the budget expects, 2026-27: about $649 million (our math)¹
• From local taxpayers and other local sources: about 76%¹
• From the state: about 22%¹
• From the federal government: about 1%¹
• Budget adopted: June 18, 2026, by a 6–0 vote²

In short

The district expects about $649 million for 2026-27.¹ About 76% comes from local taxes and other local sources.¹ About 22% comes from the state.¹ The budget was adopted 6–0.²

Why it matters to your tax bill: most of the district’s money comes from local property taxes, including yours.

Related: property tax bill · recapture · money out · tax rate history

A school district gets money from three places. Local people pay property taxes. The state sends money. The federal government sends a little.

Think of a family budget with three paychecks. In Leander, the local paycheck is by far the biggest.

Three funds, three jobs

The district keeps its money in separate pots, called funds. The board adopts a budget for three of them.¹

Fund	What it pays for	Money in
General fund	Teachers, buses, buildings, day-to-day costs	$465,934,821
Debt service fund	Paying back bond loans	$168,018,814
Child nutrition fund	School meals	$15,184,416
All three (our math)		$649,138,051

Who pays

Source	All three funds (our math)	Share
Local	$496,247,380	76%
State	$144,684,177	22%
Federal	$8,206,494	1%

Source: note 1. Shares are our math and are rounded.¹

The general fund

The general fund runs the schools. In 2026-27, it expects $466.3 million in all, counting $350,000 from selling property.³

• Property taxes for this year: $325.6 million. That is 69.8% of the fund.³
• All local sources: 73.1%.³
• State money: 26.5%.³

Part of the state money is not cash for the district to spend. The state pays $29.1 million straight into the teacher retirement plan. The budget counts it as both money in and money out.³

In the last audited year (ended June 30, 2025), the general fund got $616,088 from federal sources. The biggest parts were School Health and Related Services, or SHARS ($214,701), JROTC ($195,694) and a program the audit calls MAC ($117,116).⁴

Money that goes back

Leander is a recapture district. That means some local tax money goes back to the state. For 2026-27, the budget sets aside $10.9 million for this.⁵

The main fund in one line. The 2026-27 budget plans $465.9 million in and $476.2 million out of the main fund. Pay and benefits are $410.8 million of that, 86%.⁶ The debt fund plans $168.0 million: $64.6 million of loan principal and $103.4 million of interest (61.5%).⁶

What one cent raises. Property values dropped 1.26% in 2026. Each cent of tax rate now raises about $4.09 million.⁷

Money sent back to the state was $46.4 million in 2022-23, then $9.6 million and $11.2 million.⁸

Spending more than comes in

The general fund plans to spend $476.2 million. That is more than it takes in. The gap is about $10.3 million.¹ See Reserves and deficit.

For your own share, see Your property tax bill.

The other side

• This page does not show which parts of the money the board controls and which are set by state formulas.
• A planned gap is not the same as running out of money. See reserves and deficit for the district’s savings and how long they would last.

Questions to ask

• When will the district post the audit for the current year?
• How does the district explain the gap between budgeted and actual income?

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: We made the source link names plainer.
• Nov. 2, 2026: Added questions to ask.
• Nov. 2, 2026: Added the steps behind the figures to the notes.
• Nov. 2, 2026: Added the general fund’s federal money from the latest audit.
• Nov. 2, 2026: We checked every figure against its source. We reworded the other-side points so they stick to what the sources show.

What you can do or watch next

• Watch the next budget, proposed in the spring and adopted in June.
• Watch the tax rate the board adopts each summer.
• See property tax bill for your own share.

What we still don’t know

• These are budget numbers. What actually comes in will not be known until the year’s audit.

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

Footnotes

1. Leander ISD, 2026-27 Adopted Budget, page 9, “Budget – Legally Adopted Funds.” General fund: local $340,798,514, state $122,379,307, federal $2,757,000, total $465,934,821. Debt service: local $145,778,944, state $22,239,870, total $168,018,814. Child nutrition: local $9,669,922, state $65,000, federal $5,449,494, total $15,184,416. General fund expenditures $476,186,879; net operating results $(10,252,058). Local copy of the page. Our math adds the three funds. Total: $465,934,821 + $168,018,814 + $15,184,416 = $649,138,051. Local: $340,798,514 + $145,778,944 + $9,669,922 = $496,247,380, or 76%. State: $122,379,307 + $22,239,870 + $65,000 = $144,684,177, or 22%. Federal: $2,757,000 + $5,449,494 = $8,206,494, or 1%. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

2. Board minutes, June 18, 2026: budget adopted 6–0. Minutes. ↩ ↩²

3. 2026-27 Adopted Budget, page 16, “General Fund Revenue Sources.” Local taxes, current year $325,636,264 (69.8%). Total local and other sources $340,798,514 (73.1%). Per capita apportionment $23,235,000. Foundation School Fund $69,060,180. TRS on-behalf payments $29,084,127. Total state sources $122,379,307 (26.5%). Total revenue all sources $466,284,821, which includes $350,000 from sale of property. Local copy of the page. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

4. Leander ISD, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the year ended June 30, 2025, Note 10, “General Fund Federal Source Revenues,” p.50: MAC $117,116; School Health and Related Service (SHARS) $214,701; JROTC $195,694; National Wildlife Refuge Fund $56,739; federal indirect costs $31,838; total $616,088. In our saved text the column headings are garbled; the amounts add to the printed total. ↩

5. 2026-27 Adopted Budget, page 9, line “91 – Intergovernmental Charges,” $10,885,260. Page 12 lists it as recapture. Local copy of page 12. ↩

6. Leander ISD, 2026-27 Adopted Budget, pages 9 and 12. Our math. ↩ ↩²

7. 2026 certified taxable value $40,925,042,843 vs. $41,449,145,714 in 2025. Our math. ↩

8. TEA PEIMS actual financial data, function 91. ↩