Lago Vista ISD has about $250,000 left of taxpayers' 2022 bond

The Lago Vista Independent School District has about $250,000 left from its 2022 school bond, its finance chief told the board on Oct. 19, 2026.¹ Jason Stoner is the district's chief of finance and operations.² Stoner said the district has completed all of its projects in the 2022 bond program. The board took no vote on the item.¹ Voters approved $26,483,000 in three bond propositions on May 7, 2022.^3,4 Taxpayers repay those bonds through a property tax that has no limit on its rate.³ The leftover is less than 1% of that amount.^1,3 The district's flyer for voters said the bond would not raise the school district tax rate.⁵ On Aug. 31, the board set the 2026-27 debt tax rate at $0.32, the same rate the flyer cited.^2,5,6 State law limits what the district can do with unspent bond money.⁷ Board President Kevin Walker, who holds Place 7 and chaired the meeting, said the alternative is to "defease the bond or make much needed improvements somewhere."^1,8 To defease bonds means to set money aside now to pay off and discharge them, which the board voted to do in August.^2,6

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A two-host briefing. The voices are AI generated. Read the transcript.

A tabletop model of a level brass balance scale. One pan holds a ribboned stack of blank certificates, and the other holds a small run-down office building with peeling paint and a dented air conditioner. A few coins lie on the table, and a new stadium, tennis courts, and activity center glow in the background. AI illustration, not a real scene from Lago Vista. — AI illustration. Image credits.

Percentages, sums, and per-home amounts in this story are our calculations from the cited records. Tax rates are per $100 of taxable value, which is a property's value after exemptions.⁹

What a school bond is

A school bond is borrowing that voters approve for named purposes.³ Property owners repay it through a debt tax, called the Interest and Sinking (I&S) tax.⁹ Texas Education Code Section 45.1105 lets a district use unspent bond money, which the law calls proceeds, in only three ways. The first is for the specific purposes the bonds were authorized for. The second is to retire the bonds, which means to pay them off. The third is for another purpose, but only if the original purposes are accomplished or abandoned. The board must also approve that use in separate votes at a public meeting held only for that purpose. That meeting must give the public a chance to speak.⁷

Earlier coverage

Our earlier story reported that the board voted 7-0 on Aug. 31, 2026, to let officials put up to $5,000,000 toward paying off some bonds early.^2,6 The district's tax notice lists $59,250,000 in bond principal still owed.⁹

How the bond started

On Feb. 17, 2022, the board adopted an order calling a bond election for May 7, 2022. The order put three propositions on the ballot. Proposition A asked for $4,123,500 for athletic stadium facilities.³ A flyer for voters said it would expand Viking stadium seating, add parking, resurface the track, and replace turf.⁵ Proposition B asked for $9,175,500 for school buildings and the sites for them.³ The flyer listed land for future school facilities, four new tennis courts, and turf baseball and softball fields.⁵ Proposition C asked for $13,184,000 for a student activity center.³ The flyer described a multi-use Student Activity Center.⁵

The flyer said the district could make all existing and new bond payments with the $0.32 I&S tax rate residents were already paying.⁵ The ballot still carried a state-required warning that the bond is a property tax increase. The district's voter documents say the warning appears on every school bond ballot. They said that if their assumptions held, the estimated yearly tax increase would be $0. The documents assumed a 25-year term. They also assumed a 3.75% interest rate. They estimated interest of $2,331,339 for Proposition A and $5,187,632 for Proposition B. They put the interest on Proposition C at $7,453,952. Together, those estimates come to $14,972,923 in interest on top of the principal.³

The flyer also projected enrollment. Its new projection for the 2024-25 school year was 2,209 students.⁵ The Texas Education Agency's report lists 1,887 students enrolled that year.¹⁰

The May 7, 2022 vote

Voters approved all three propositions on May 7, 2022. Proposition A passed 1,026 to 977. Proposition B passed 1,110 to 886. Proposition C passed by 17 votes, 1,006 to 989.⁴

What the board heard in 2024

The agenda for the board's regular meeting on Monday, July 15, 2024, listed "2022 Bond Update from Region 13 / Sledge Engineering." A slide in the packet showed $4,205,230 spent on Proposition A and $3,910,684.69 spent on Proposition B. It showed $12,554,179.70 spent on Proposition C and $6,412,905.61 remaining. Our sum of those four figures is $27,083,000.¹¹ That is $600,000 more than voters approved.^3,11 A budget slide in the same packet, updated March 20, 2024, lists the extra as $400,000 of "Interest Utilized" and $200,000 of "Additional Interest." That slide also set aside $4,500,000 under Proposition B for the cost of land. Under the heading "SAC/Tennis," another slide said a building punch list was underway and final city inspections were due that week.¹¹

At the regular meeting on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, Casey Sledge "gave a wrap up of the 2022 bond additions and remaining money for land acquisition." The minutes we reviewed give no dollar amount and do not say what land.¹²

The May 12, 2025 special meeting

The board met in a special meeting on Monday, May 12, 2025, at 5:45 p.m. at Lago Vista High School. The notice lists Darren Webb as superintendent. Its only action item asked the board to let the district use unspent Series 2022 bond money for a purpose other than the one voters approved. The order would cover buying school buses and costs of renovating the Intermediate School. The agenda set aside time for public comment on that question.¹³

The district's YouTube video shows Stoner explaining the request. We paraphrase the video because its captions are machine-made. Stoner said the 2022 bond had some money left over. He said the money could move to the 2020 bond to pay for upgrades at the Intermediate School campus. He said the upgrades would keep that campus viable for the next eight to 10 years. He said the district also wanted to buy more buses because some in its fleet were aging out.¹⁴

A speaker explained that bond ballots name exactly what the money will be used for. A speaker described the move as shifting one bond's money to another bond the public also approved. In answer to a question, a speaker said the 2022 bond was set to earn a certain interest rate. The speaker said rates have since gone up. The extra interest builds up as what the speaker called arbitrage, and the more money sits in the account, the more goes back to the federal government.¹⁴

A speaker moved to adopt the order, and another seconded. The captions read the result as a 6-0 vote. The captions do not name who moved or how each member voted, and they garble the name of the trustee who seconded. The minutes for this meeting were not among the records we reviewed, so the vote comes from the video alone.¹⁴

Buses and the leftover balance, Oct. 2025 to Jan. 2026

At the board's meeting on Oct. 16, 2025, Webb recommended buying two International buses for $316,628 plus an $800 BuyBoard fee. The minutes say the money would come "from the 2022 bond." Trustee Kevin Walker moved to give the superintendent authority to buy up to four buses. The motion capped the cost at $640,000, or $160,000 each. Trustee Greg Zaleski seconded, and the motion carried 7-0. Isai Arredondo, Rich Raley, Jerrell Roque, David Scott, Laura Vincent, Walker, and Zaleski voted yes.¹⁵

On Jan. 12, 2026, Stoner noted about $320,000 remained unassigned from the 2022 bond. At the same meeting, the minutes list a long-range planning report on the district's bond capacity by Dusty Traylor of "RBC Capital." The district has reduced interest "by $9.2million through defeasance savings," according to the minutes. Our earlier story found no dollar figure for those savings, and this is the first we have found. The minutes do not say which bonds the savings come from.¹⁶

The Sept. 14, 2026 bond committee vote

On Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, Walker moved and Trustee Michele Coronis seconded a motion on a Bond Advisory Committee. It directed Superintendent Dr. Mindy Curran to name a district chairperson for a committee of two board members and community members. The committee's job is to study the district's facility and capital needs. The motion says any recommendation "shall not exceed $24 million in bonding." The committee must report back by the December 2026 board meeting. The motion carried 5-0.¹⁷ Sara Jane Cantwell of Place 1, Coronis of Place 2, Brian Caller of Place 5, David Scott of Place 6, and Walker voted yes.^8,17 Rich Raley was absent, and the minutes say Arredondo arrived at 7:06 p.m.¹⁷

The Oct. 19, 2026 meeting

The board held a public hearing and regular meeting on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, at 6 p.m. at Lago Vista High School. Item 4 on the agenda was titled "2022 Bond Update." The agenda lists no document for the item.¹⁸ Walker asked Curran and Stoner to "give us the lowdown."¹

Stoner said the projects were done and the district had "exhausted essentially all of the funds." He said pictures on screen left out the buses and a tractor the district bought. He said the work gave the district some of the best school facilities in Texas, in his opinion. He then said about $250,000 remained. The district has done early research on administrative building renovations, he said. Stoner said the remaining balance "wouldn't cover much of what's required."¹

Stoner reminded the board that the community approved administrative building renovations in 2019. He said those funds instead went to needs at the intermediate school. He said the administrative building "has essentially gone untouched since 2019." He listed heating and air conditioning problems, peeling paint, and moldy ceiling tiles.¹

"So the TLDR is we have 250 left," Walker said. He said, "the alternative is to defease the bond or make much needed improvements somewhere." A trustee whom the video does not identify asked about a timeline. Stoner answered, "2027." Another unidentified trustee asked for the total amount of the 2022 bond. Stoner answered "26.483."¹ That matches the $26,483,000 on the three propositions.³

Stoner said the board had earlier passed resolutions to use the funds for transportation. With the money left, he said, "it's maybe a bus and some Suburbans." He said the district could instead start planning an administrative building. He asked the board, "what do you want us to do?" He said the board would not settle that day.¹

Later, in the superintendent's report, Curran said the Bond Advisory Committee would kick off the next day at 6 p.m. Curran said Stoner and a Mr. Holt would co-chair it. Curran said the group had about 40 members.¹

No vote on Oct. 19

No one made a motion on the item. After Stoner finished, Walker said, "We'll move to item number five."¹ The minutes of the Oct. 19 meeting are not posted yet.¹⁸

What it means for you

The board set the 2026-27 debt tax rate at $0.32 per $100 of taxable value.^2,6 As our earlier story showed, that rate comes to about $843 a year on the average home.⁹ The 2022 election order listed the same debt rate of $0.32.³

The $250,000 is 0.94% of the $26,483,000 bond.^1,3 The records we reviewed do not say how using it would change the debt rate.⁹ State law allows leftover bond money to retire bonds without the special meeting. Using it for another purpose requires the separate votes and public comment described above.⁷ The January minutes tie early payoffs to $9.2 million in lower interest.¹⁶ The 2022 ballot does not name buses or the administrative building.³ In May 2025 the board held a special meeting before moving 2022 bond money to buses.¹³

The new committee's recommendation is capped at $24 million. It must report to the board by December 2026.¹⁷ Stoner told the board the timeline for the leftover money is 2027.¹ No record we reviewed schedules a board vote on the leftover.¹⁸

Where it stands

Stoner asked the board what it wants done, and the board moved on without deciding. Curran said the committee's first meeting is Oct. 20.¹

How to weigh in

The Oct. 19 agenda says speakers sign up in person between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on the day of a meeting.¹⁸ Trustees and their contact details are on the district's board page.⁸ The May 2025 agenda shows the district held public comment before a vote on moving bond money.¹³

What we could not find

The Oct. 19 slides. The agenda lists no document for the item.¹⁸
The minutes of the Oct. 19 meeting.¹⁸
Written proof of the $250,000. Stoner said it aloud, and no posted record shows it.¹
The final accounting of the 2022 bond by proposition.¹¹
How the balance went from about $320,000 in January to about $250,000 in October.¹⁶
Whether the $4,500,000 budgeted for land was spent, and on what land.¹¹
The minutes and signed order for May 12, 2025, and how much went to Intermediate School renovations and buses.¹³
How much arbitrage the district has paid or owes on the 2022 bonds.¹⁴
Which trustees asked questions on Oct. 19, and the full question about the timeline.¹

What you can do

Ask the superintendent's office for the Oct. 19 slides, the final 2022 bond accounting, and the signed May 12, 2025 order. The Texas Public Information Act makes a completed report and records of public spending public information.¹⁹
Speak at a board meeting. Sign up in person between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on the day.¹⁸
Ask the district how residents can follow the Bond Advisory Committee's work.¹⁷

If you have records on this, you can share them with us at /share-records. We protect your identity and publish the evidence when we can do so safely.

Podcast transcript

Read the transcript

Host 1. This is the Lago Vista Watchdog briefing. The two voices you are hearing are AI generated. Every fact in this episode is sourced in the full story on our website, and a person validates each story before it is published.

Host 2. Here is the bottom line. The Lago Vista Independent School District has about 250,000 dollars left from its 2022 school bond. Jason Stoner, the district's chief of finance and operations, told the board so on October 19, 2026, according to the meeting video. He said every project in the 2022 bond program is done. The board took no vote.

Host 1. Voters approved 26,483,000 dollars in three bond propositions in May 2022, according to the district's election order. Taxpayers repay those bonds through a property tax. The leftover is less than 1 percent of the total, by our calculation.

Host 2. The district's flyer for voters said the bond would not raise the school district tax rate. On August 31, the board set this year's debt tax rate at 0.32 dollars per 100 dollars of taxable value, the same rate the flyer cited, according to the board's tax rate order.

Host 1. Board President Kevin Walker, who chaired the meeting, said the alternative is to defease the bond or make much needed improvements somewhere. To defease bonds means to set money aside now to pay them off, which the board voted to do in August.

Host 2. A quick guide. A school bond is borrowing that voters approve for named purposes. Property owners repay it through a debt tax. Texas Education Code Section 45.1105 lets a district use leftover bond money in only three ways. It can go to the purposes voters approved. It can pay off the bonds. Or it can go to another purpose, but only after the original purposes are done or dropped, and only after separate board votes at a public meeting held just for that, with a chance for the public to speak.

Host 1. We reported earlier that the board voted 7 to 0 on August 31 to let officials put up to 5 million dollars toward paying off some bonds early. Today's story picks up from there.

Host 2. Now, in order, here is how the 2022 bond played out. On February 17, 2022, the board called a bond election for May 7. Proposition A asked for 4,123,500 dollars for the stadium. A district flyer said it would expand seating, add parking, resurface the track, and replace turf.

Host 1. Proposition B asked for 9,175,500 dollars for school buildings and their sites. The flyer listed land for future schools, four tennis courts, and turf baseball and softball fields. Proposition C asked for 13,184,000 dollars for a multi-use student activity center.

Host 2. The ballot carried the state-required warning that this is a property tax increase. The district's voter documents said that warning appears on every school bond ballot, and they estimated the yearly tax increase at zero if their assumptions held. They also estimated about 15 million dollars in interest over 25 years, on top of the principal, by our sum.

Host 1. The flyer made its case on growth. It projected 2,209 students for the 2024-25 school year. The Texas Education Agency's report shows 1,887 students enrolled that year.

Host 2. On May 7, 2022, voters approved all three propositions, according to the official election canvass. Proposition C, the activity center, passed by just 17 votes.

Host 1. In July 2024, a slide in the board packet showed how much had been spent on each proposition and how much was left. A budget slide in the same packet showed 600,000 dollars more to spend than voters approved, and it labeled that extra money as interest. That slide also set aside 4,500,000 dollars under Proposition B for the cost of land.

Host 2. In May 2025, the board held a special meeting to move leftover 2022 bond money to school buses and repairs at the Intermediate School. The district's video shows Stoner explaining the request. Its machine captions read the vote as 6 to 0. The minutes were not posted for us to check.

Host 1. In October 2025, the board voted 7 to 0 to let the superintendent buy up to four buses, capped at 640,000 dollars, using 2022 bond money, according to the minutes. In January 2026, the minutes say about 320,000 dollars remained unassigned. The same minutes say early payoffs had cut the district's interest by 9.2 million dollars.

Host 2. In September 2026, the board voted 5 to 0 to form a Bond Advisory Committee. Its recommendation for a new bond cannot exceed 24 million dollars, and it reports back by December.

Host 1. That brings us to October 19. Stoner said the district had exhausted essentially all of the funds. He said about 250,000 dollars remained, which would not cover much of what the district's administrative building needs. He described heating and air conditioning problems, peeling paint, and moldy ceiling tiles in a building he said has gone essentially untouched since 2019.

Host 2. Asked about a timeline, Stoner answered 2027. He said the board had already passed resolutions to use the money for transportation, and that what is left is maybe a bus and some Suburbans. Or, he said, the district could start planning an administrative building. Then he asked the board, what do you want us to do? No one made a motion, and Walker moved on to the next item.

Host 1. Later that night, Superintendent Dr. Mindy Curran said the Bond Advisory Committee would meet for the first time the next day, with about 40 members.

Host 2. What we could not find. The October 19 slides are not posted, so the 250,000 dollar figure comes only from what Stoner said aloud. We also found no final accounting of the 2022 bond, no record of whether the land money was spent, and no minutes for the May 2025 vote.

Host 1. Here is how you can weigh in. Ask the superintendent's office for the October 19 slides, the final 2022 bond accounting, and the signed May 2025 order. Speak at a board meeting by signing up in person between half past 5 and 6 in the evening on the day. And ask the district how residents can follow the new bond committee. The full story and every source are on our website.

Sources and documents

Every fact in this story comes from the records below. The small numbers in the story point to them. Links go to the exact moment in the meeting video or the page in the document.

See something wrong? Request a correction. Have records on this? Share them with us.