After trustees asked to pause, Leander ISD moves $129.5 million school vote ahead of new LISD Board

Leander ISD demographics report released October 29, 2026

On Oct. 29, Leander ISD administration told the LISD Board of Trustees the construction contracts for two new elementary schools would come Nov. 19, the first meeting for three newly elected trustees. That same night, trustees looked at the district’s falling enrollment numbers and asked to pause. The board president said she was “very very nervous” board members would start “getting cold feet.”

Eight days later, three days after the election, the vote moved up a week. Thursday night, the outgoing board decides $129.5 million.

Parents are asking for one thing: let the new board vote Nov. 19, as administration first planned. If it’s a good plan, why can’t it wait a week?

Press Release November 11, 2026 by Heather Tankersley (a Four Points community member), Marie-Lynn Dunn (a Mason-zoned parent), Laurie Moore (a Four Points community member) and other concerned Leander ISD residents  

Two weeks ago, Leander ISD’s $129.5 million vote on two new elementary schools was headed to the new Board. Thursday night, the outgoing Board will decide it instead.

What happened

  • Oct. 29, the data. The district’s demographer reports enrollment falling for a second straight year. LISD is down to about 41,100 students, and its elementary schools are 68% full.
  • Oct. 29, the plan. Administration tells the Board the construction contracts for Elementary Schools #31 and #32 will come Nov. 19. A trustee notes: “That’s the first day for new board members and they’re expected to vote on that.”
  • Oct. 29, the pushback. A trustee, citing the data, says the district should “pause on any future developments that we were planning to start in January or February” because “it’s premature at this point.” Another says it’s “hard to hit your new board members” with the decision “without even letting them have time to digest or discuss the PASA report.”
  • Oct. 29, the response. The Board president says: “I’m worried that board members are going to start getting cold feet and completely go back on the process. I’m very very nervous about this.” When a trustee asks for an agenda item on the schools, she says: “Right now, November 19th is packed. December 10th is packed.”
  • Nov. 3. Voters elect three new trustees.
  • Nov. 6. A special meeting is posted for Nov. 12, a week before the new trustees take their seats, and after several board members have already moved on, with both contracts up for approval: $66.7 million for ES #31 and $62.8 million for ES #32.

The numbers

  • The forecast missed by about 6,000 students. Ten years ago, the demographer’s reduced growth scenario projected 47,193 LISD students for today. LISD has about 41,100.
  • The schools have room. LISD elementary schools have 7,795 empty seats. Mason Elementary, whose students would move to ES #32, has 589 students in 860 seats.
  • The district says enrollment sets the clock. Its bond page: “The timing is dependent upon multiple factors, including enrollment trends, facility needs, and any related Board action.”

Administration says delay risks higher construction costs, and told the Board on Oct. 29 that construction “has to start in January or February” to stay on schedule. A Nov. 19 vote, the date administration itself announced, meets that timeline. It also meets the Dec. 1 notice to proceed assumed in the ES #31 contract package. The district says ES #32 keeps the Mason community together in a newer building closer to where its families live.

“This isn’t about Travisso families. It’s about who gets to decide,” said Heather Tankersley, a Leander ISD parent. “Two weeks ago, the plan was for the new Board to vote. Then trustees looked at the data and asked to pause, and the vote moved up a week. The new Board will have to defend these schools, back them up and live with them. Pushing this through before they’re seated looks like a Hail Mary, and to a lot of families it looks sneaky. If it’s such a good plan, it will stand with the new Board.”

“Nearly 400 people have signed because they want to see the numbers before the money is spent,” said Marie-Lynn Dunn, a Mason-zoned parent who started the “Show Your Work, LISD” petition. “Let the Board voters just elected make the call.”

The ask

  1. Defer agenda items 4.B and 4.C to Nov. 19, the date administration announced on Oct. 29.
  2. Publish the enrollment, cost and staffing assumptions behind both projects before any vote.

Meeting: Thursday, Nov. 12, 6:15 p.m., Linda Lippe Instructional Materials Center, 1775 W. New Hope Drive, Cedar Park. Livestream at leanderisd.org/boardlivestream. Public comment sign-up runs noon Wednesday to noon Thursday. Laurie Moore, a community member, will speak during public comment.

Documents: Oct. 29 workshop video (superintendent at 4:59:15; Board president at 5:09:07 and 5:15:24) · Nov. 12 agenda · ES #31 contract package and schedule (milestones p. 5, Dec. 1 assumption p. 13, schedule p. 29) · District slides for Thursday

FACT SHEET

Every line comes from a district or contractor document. Timestamps link to the district’s Oct. 29 video.

The Oct. 29 workshop (on the district’s video)

  • Administration: “We have on the 19th the GMP for those coming before the board.” (4:59:15) A trustee: “That’s the first day for new board members and they’re expected to vote on that.” (5:03:10)
  • Administration: “If we’re going to keep [them] on this timeline right now, construction has to start in January or February.” (5:01:32)
  • A trustee: “Based on the data that was presented tonight… we need to pause on any future developments that we were planning to start in January or February… it’s premature at this point.” (4:51:05) And: “Even just based on the data, this is not the time.” (4:52:56)
  • Another trustee: “I would like to delay 31 and 32.” Another: “I think that’s hard to hit your new board members with a 31/32 without even letting them have time to digest or discuss the PASA report.” (5:05:40)
  • The Board president: “I’m worried that board members are going to start getting cold feet and completely go back on the process. I’m very very nervous about this.” (5:09:07)
  • A trustee requested an agenda item on ES #31, ES #32 and Mason, saying it “might be something for the new people to get acquainted about.” It was seconded. The president: “Right now, November 19th is packed. December 10th is packed.” (5:15:24)
  • Full video: Oct. 29, 2026 Board workshop

The Nov. 12 votes

  • Agenda item 4.B, ES #31 GMP #2: $66,708,477.91, covering “the remaining scopes of work.” (Nov. 12 Board packet)
  • Agenda item 4.C, ES #32 GMP #1: $62,803,800, “for the start of the construction phase,” per American Constructors’ estimate dated Nov. 12. The cover letter adds, “Each project may have additional GMPs.” (Nov. 12 Board packet)
  • Together, about $129.5 million, with more GMPs possible. The 2023 bond budgeted $71,432,375 for ES #31 and $79,944,260 for ES #32. (LISD project pages)
  • The ES #31 contractor’s “PRECON BASELINE Schedule, September 2026” set Board approval of the road contract (GMP 2) for Nov. 19, the building and site contract (GMP 3) for Dec. 10, and notice to proceed for Dec. 11. (Nov. 12 Board packet)
  • The same package assumes a notice to proceed “no later than December 1, 2026.” No schedule was posted for ES #32; its contractor’s bid page lists a February 2027 start, and its state construction registration (TDLR, filed May 2026) lists Feb. 1, 2027.
  • On Oct. 1, administration told the Board: “No action on final construction authorization is requested today.” (Oct. 1 Board packet)
  • The Nov. 12 special meeting was posted Nov. 6 at 3:12 p.m., three days after the election. (BoardBook)

Enrollment

  • About 41,100 students this fall, down roughly 700, the second straight annual decline. The demographer projects relatively steady enrollment for the next decade. (Board Briefs, Oct. 29, 2026)
  • For the first time, kindergarten is smaller than the number of children born in the district five years earlier. (Board Briefs, Oct. 29)
  • Elementary campuses are 68% full: 16,762 students in 24,557 seats, with 7,795 empty. Sixteen of 29 campuses are under 70%. (PASA, Oct. 29, slides 38-39)
  • Ten years ago, the demographer’s reduced growth scenario projected about 47,193 LISD students for today. (Nov. 12 deck, slide 13)
  • Slide 13 also says: “AEO enrollment is a choice, not a permanent subtraction from the district’s future responsibility.”

ES #32 and Mason

  • Mason enrolls 589 students in 860 seats (68%). (PASA, Oct. 29, slide 39)
  • Slide 14: 707 Mason-area children attend LISD schools (82% of Mason’s seats). Adding 340 who attend charter, virtual or other public schools gives 1,047 (122%).
  • The full slide 35 sentence: “Don’t build for every student as though they will return; plan responsibly for the risk if they do.”
  • Travisso has 549 homes left to build at 0.37 students per home, about 80 more elementary students at build-out. (PASA, Oct. 29, slides 14 and 23-24)
  • Slide 33 shows 0% escalation buffer remaining for ES #32.
  • Board thresholds adopted 6-1 on Dec. 11, 2025: under 500 students triggers staffing changes; under 400 triggers consolidation review. A resolution adopted 7-0 on Sept. 30, 2025 directs administration to look first at existing buildings; slide 27 says, “Consider the voter-approved investment, then existing facilities.”

ES #31

  • In 2023 the demographer projected 1,145 Tarvin-zone students for this fall (PreK counted then). About 725 are there now. Thursday’s deck projects 1,144 for 2031-32. (PASA 2023, slide 31; Nov. 12 deck, slide 12)
  • Tarvin, Parkside and Akin together are projected at 89% full in 2028-29, the year ES #31 would open: 2,248 students in 2,526 seats. (Nov. 12 deck, slide 12)
  • The ES #31 site is 76 acres; slide 29 notes a “Typical Elementary Site is 18-22 Acres.”
  • Slide 31: “an approximate $10 million funding gap,” with a proposed transfer from the ES #30 roads line going to the Bond Oversight Committee.

Timeline and money

  • When voters approved the bond in May 2023, ES #31 was to open August 2025 and ES #32 August 2027. Both now target August 2028. (Nov. 12 deck, slide 6)
  • Proposition A failed Nov. 3, 55% to 45%. The district will not collect about $6.7 million a year in added operating revenue. (LISD, Nov. 4) The two schools are paid for by the 2023 bond, not operating funds.
  • Three new trustees were elected Nov. 3. The canvass is Nov. 17; the next regular Board meeting is Nov. 19.