Leander school board calls for $454 million bond election

The Leander, Texas, school board Thursday night unanimously approved putting before voters in November a $454 million bond package, the first in 10 years.

The bond package calls for four new schools to be built in the next four years; land purchases for nine more schools; design work for two other secondary schools; secure entrances at all middle and high schools; a second transportation facility and new buses; a boost to technology; and various maintenance and additions, among other things.

District leaders said the growth and new home construction will offset the tax impact and won't need to increase the tax rate with the bond. It's a common strategy among area school districts. The Austin school district, which also will go before voters in November with a $1.1 billion bond package, also is promising no tax rate increase.

Demographers project the 39,100-student Leander district will grow by at least 1,100 students per year. District leaders said such growth creates the need for new schools.

But in recent years, the district has been criticized for its debt load of $2.8 billion, with nearly $992 million in principal and $1.8 billion in interest, and the kind of debt it accrued. Much of the district's principal was from capital appreciation bonds, or CABs, a controversial pay-later method to build facilities, though the district moved away from such CABs and has worked to pay down debt more quickly. In the past three years, the district has cut its total debt by $731.5 million by refinancing CABs to capital interest bonds and paying off debt early.

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Tribune Content Agency
School bonds Bond elections Texas
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