Leander ISD Asks Voters for 3 Cents. Here Is What Proposition A Would Cost and Buy.

Leander ISD voters are not being asked for a bond this fall. They are being asked for three cents.

Proposition A on the Nov. 3 ballot is a voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE. It would raise the maintenance and operations part of the district's tax rate by 3 cents per $100 of valuation. Early voting started Oct. 19 and runs through Oct. 30, according to the district's voting page.

What it would cost a homeowner

The board called the election Aug. 17, Community Impact reported. If Proposition A passes, the rate would be $1.1169 per $100. If it fails, the rate falls back to the $1.0869 the board adopted that night.

District officials used an average taxable home value of $460,292. Officials told Community Impact that if the measure passes, the average tax bill would be about $5,141. That would be $27.56 more for the year, or $2.30 a month, than in 2025-26. If it fails, the bill would drop $110.53 for the year, or $9.21 a month. By Dock Line's math, the real difference for that homeowner between passing and failing is roughly $138 a year.

Officials also said qualifying homeowners 65 and older with a homestead exemption will not be affected by the increase. The interest and sinking rate, which pays off debt, stays at $0.33.

Where the money goes

The 3 cents would raise about $12 million, but roughly $5.3 million would go back to the state through recapture. That leaves the district about $6.7 million, according to Community Impact.

The district says the money would help close part of an ongoing budget gap, reduce the need for future cuts, and allow a one-time retention bonus for employees in December. The board adopted its 2026-27 budget with a $9.9 million shortfall in June. District officials point to unfunded special education and safety mandates, flat enrollment, inflation and the lack of a meaningful increase in the state's basic allotment since 2019.

A Leander city limit sign, 2020. Photo: A Yee / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

What the efficiency audit found

An independent efficiency audit is one of the requirements tied to Proposition A. The district summary of the Sept. 17 board meeting says the Whitley Penn audit used mostly 2024-25 data and compared Leander ISD with eight peer districts.

• Spending per student: $11,561 in Leander ISD, $12,877 among peers and $12,952 statewide.

• Share spent on instruction and related services: 63.3% in Leander ISD, 59% among peers and 57.7% statewide.

• Share spent on general administration: 2.2% in Leander ISD, 2.6% among peers and 3.3% statewide.

The district also earned an A, or Superior, rating in the state's 2025 school financial integrity system. It says it has cut about $26 million over two budget cycles.

The budget has gotten tighter

The Oct. 15 board summary says the district's money problems have grown since the budget passed. Enrollment came in below projections and health care costs ran higher than expected. Starting with the 2027 plan year, the district will raise its health insurance contribution from $510 to $610 a month per enrolled employee. That adds about $5.5 million a year. Trustees reviewed budget projections both with and without Proposition A money.

No bond this time

Trustees did consider a bond. A citizens' committee laid out options of $591.2 million or $708.5 million on July 30, but the board did not call a bond election, Community Impact reported. Chief Operations Officer Jeremy Trimble said a bond could come in May or November 2027.

Voters should weigh this one plainly. A district that spends less per child than its neighbors and still faces a gap is making a real case. A homeowner who has watched every bill climb has a real case too. Either way, the ballot is the place to settle it. Leander ISD covers parts of both Williamson and Travis counties, and each county posts its own polling places.

Related on Dock Line: Bastrop ISD Asks Voters for Three More Pennies as Early Voting Begins; McKinney ISD Asks for $500 Million in Bonds and a Tax Rate Election as Early Voting Opens