Lago Vista schools earn a 4th straight C at $12,343 a student

What the A-F rating is

TEA, the state education agency, rates public school districts and campuses from A to F. The grade rests on three areas called Student Achievement, School Progress, and Closing the Gaps.¹ Student Achievement combines results on the state test, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), with graduation rates and college, career, and military readiness (CCMR).^2,12 School Progress measures how many students grew at least a year and how each school's results compare with schools that have a similar share of economically disadvantaged students. TEA counts a student as economically disadvantaged if the student is eligible for free or reduced-price school meals or other public assistance. Closing the Gaps compares results for groups of students, such as racial and ethnic groups, students in special education, and economically disadvantaged students.¹³

The overall score counts the better of Achievement or Progress at 70%, and Closing the Gaps at 30%.¹³ For LVISD, Achievement has counted at 70% and Progress at 0% in every rating from 2023 to 2026.^2,3,4,5 State rules treat an A, B, or C as acceptable, while repeated D or F ratings can bring state intervention.¹³

TEA changed how it calculates the grades for 2023, a change it called a refresh.¹⁴ One change set the CCMR cut score for an A at 88%, up from 60%.¹⁵ TEA said that in the refresh year, "year-over-year comparisons are more difficult to make."¹⁶

Seven trustees, elected at large to three-year terms, govern LVISD.¹⁷ Dr. Mindy Curran is the superintendent.¹⁸

What we reported before, and what is new

Our story on teacher pay and the 2026-27 pay freeze found that average teacher experience fell from 13.4 years in 2021-22 to 9.1 years in 2024-25. Over the same years, teacher turnover rose from 17.9% to 26.9%.^19,20 On Aug. 31, 2026, the board voted 7 to 0 to adopt the 2026-27 budget and a tax rate of $1.0169 per $100 of taxable value.^21,22 Trustee Sara Jane Cantwell moved and Trustee David Scott seconded the budget, and Scott moved and Trustee Michele Coronis seconded the tax rate. On each vote, Isai Arredondo, Cantwell, Brian Caller, Coronis, Rich Raley, Scott, and Kevin Walker voted yes.²¹

Our bond story reported that the board also voted 7 to 0 that night to let officials use up to $5,000,000 to pay off some bonds early.^21,23 Cantwell moved and Raley seconded, and the same seven trustees voted yes.²¹ Jason Stoner, the district's chief of finance and operations, said a debt tax covering only next year's bond payments would be about 11 cents lower than the 32 cents the board kept.^21,22,24 On the average home, 11 cents comes to about $290 a year (our math).²² Stoner said early payoffs since about 2021 have saved the district "millions of dollars in interest," but no record we reviewed gives a figure.²⁴ That debt tax is separate from the operations tax that recapture comes out of.^8,22

Later in this story, we compare LVISD with seven nearby districts and three A-rated districts about LVISD's size elsewhere in Texas.¹¹ Among those 11 districts, LVISD had the least experienced teachers and the highest teacher turnover in 2024-25.^{20,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34} These records sit side by side. They do not show that spending, experience, or turnover caused any rating.

2019 to 2022, an A and then a B

In August 2019, TEA gave LVISD an A, with a score of 91. Student Achievement was an A, 92, and Closing the Gaps was a B, 89. School Progress, at a C, 79, was the weakest area.⁷ In 2018-19, the district spent $9,499 per student on operations from all funds and sent $4,989,491 to the state in recapture.³⁵

TEA issued no letter grades in 2020 or 2021. Instead, it labeled the district Not Rated because of the declared state of disaster.^36,37

In August 2022, TEA gave the district a B, 87.⁶ A state law kept D and F grades from being issued that year.^38,39 School Progress rose to a B, 89.⁶

On Feb. 13, 2023, the board held a public hearing on the district's annual state report, the Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR).⁴⁰ A speaker the video does not identify asked for more detail on the district's B rating and what it was doing. A presenter answered that the high school and district grades lean heavily on CCMR, which the state was about to change.⁴¹

2023, new rules, a lawsuit, and a vote

On Aug. 7, 2023, the board heard an accountability review from Assistant Superintendent Tina Pasak and Michelle Jackson, whose role the minutes do not give, at a regular meeting. The minutes record that the state was using a different method and that ratings "will not be a simple apple-to-apples comparison."⁴²

The board packet previewed TEA's preliminary trial ratings, which applied the new rules to 2022 data. Under them, the district's overall score fell from 87 to 79. The high school's score fell from 85 to 72.⁴³

On Sept. 12, 2023, TEA delayed the 2023 ratings, which had been set for Sept. 28.¹⁶

At a regular meeting on Oct. 16, 2023, at Lago Vista High School, the board voted 6 to 0 to approve the district and campus improvement plans.⁴⁴ The district plan lists the year's main problems, the strategies to fix them, and what those strategies cost.¹² Trustee David Scott moved, and Trustee Jerrell Roque seconded. Trustee Laura Vincent was absent. With six trustees present, the 6 to 0 vote means Isai Arredondo, Rich Raley, Roque, Scott, Kevin Walker, and Greg Zaleski all voted yes.⁴⁴

A Professional Learning Community (PLC) is a team of teachers who meet regularly to review student results. The district plan's first prioritized problem was that PLC and curriculum processes "have not been effectively implemented." The plan also cited math scores that fell below expectations on the 2022 STAAR test, and said most students were not reaching the Masters level, the test's highest. It said pay for new teachers was not competitive with neighbors because raises had gone mainly to experienced teachers, which "has lowered our starting teacher salary."¹²

Later that night, the board took up a resolution to join a lawsuit over the A-F ratings in a Travis County court. Superintendent Darren Webb told the board that several districts in the area had joined. The minutes note that Webb wanted TEA to know the district was not afraid of accountability, but that TEA "cannot change the rules in the middle of the game." The minutes put the cost at about $1 per student.⁴⁴

Scott moved to join the lawsuit, and Arredondo seconded. The motion passed 6 to 0. Arredondo, Raley, Roque, Scott, Walker, and Zaleski voted yes.⁴⁴

2024, improvement plans again

On Oct. 17, 2024, the board voted 6 to 0 to approve the district and campus improvement plans. Zaleski moved and Arredondo seconded. Roque was absent, so the six yes votes came from Arredondo, Raley, Scott, Vincent, Walker, and Zaleski.⁴⁵

2025, the delayed ratings arrive

On April 24, 2025, TEA released the 2023 ratings. TEA called the wait a "lawsuit-induced two-year delay" in its release. In the same release, Commissioner Mike Morath blamed "frivolous lawsuits paid for by tax dollars" for the lack of public ratings.¹⁴

LVISD earned a C, 78, for 2023. Student Achievement was a B, 81, and School Progress was a D, 69.³ The middle school earned a B, 83, and the other three campuses earned Cs.⁴⁶ The high school fell from a B, 85, in 2022 to a C, 75, though the trial rescoring had already put its 2022 score at 72 under the new rules.^43,46,47

On July 14, 2025, the board heard a teaching and learning update at a regular meeting.⁴⁸ The video captions do not name the presenter. The presenter tied the delay to lawsuits by districts that challenged the new rules, a redesigned STAAR test, and a sharp rise in the CCMR standard. The presenter said, "really, you're releasing 2-year-old ratings."⁴⁹

The new ratings were not "a call to new action" because the district had acted while it waited, the presenter said.⁴⁹ The presenter then described a reading and math test called "MAP Growth," which the district began giving in 2024-25. A trustee noted that many nearby districts had a B and added, "Leander has a B. We have a C."⁵⁰

On Aug. 15, 2025, TEA released the 2025 ratings and the delayed 2024 ratings together.⁵¹ LVISD earned a C, 78, for 2024 and a C, 77, for 2025. Student Achievement was a B, 80, in 2024 and a C, 79, in 2025.^4,5

School Progress was a C, 74, in 2024.⁴ It fell to a D, 67, in 2025.⁵ The intermediate school fell to a D, 69, in 2024.⁵²

On Sept. 8, 2025, Pasak presented the new ratings at a regular meeting, the minutes say.⁵³ In the video, she said that for a district at 77 that wants a B, "three points is extremely attainable."⁵⁴ She explained that the middle school carried a label of "additional targeted support" because its economically disadvantaged students had underperformed three years in a row.^54,55 TEA gives that label when a group of students keeps underperforming and the group's Closing the Gaps score falls below the cutoff for the lowest-performing 5% of schools.¹³

A trustee asked whether students who opt out of STAAR count as zeros, and Pasak agreed. The district's new curriculum documents cost about $15,000 a year, paid from the state's instructional materials and technology allotment rather than the regular budget, Pasak said. A trustee told Pasak the slide had goals but not the steps to reach them, and said the district was going in the wrong direction.⁵⁴

On Oct. 16, 2025, Scott moved and Arredondo seconded a consent agenda, a group of items approved in one vote, that included the 2025-26 district, campus, and middle school improvement plans.^56,57 Arredondo, Raley, Roque, Scott, Vincent, Walker, and Zaleski all voted yes.⁵⁷

The district plan said the overall C was "adversely impacted by data anomalies and participation factors" that do not fully reflect the quality of instruction. It gave two causes. First, it said the district's student records system, Ascender, reported the share of economically disadvantaged students as 27.1%, which was "significantly lower than the actual proportion."⁵⁸

The plan said the error placed the district in comparison groups with more affluent districts in Relative Performance, the comparison part of School Progress. Second, it pointed to students who opt out of STAAR, mainly at the middle school.⁵⁸ TEA's records put the economically disadvantaged share at 27.1% in 2025 and 27.2% in 2026.^2,5

The middle school's improvement plan names five strategies for its targeted support label. Teachers would use research-based methods in everyday lessons and follow the district's curriculum. Students who need the most help would get accelerated instruction through a program called "IXL," plus tutoring before and after school. Teachers would check progress every three weeks, with a focus on economically disadvantaged students. Those students would also get small-group reading and math lessons during advisory and enrichment periods. The school would hold family learning nights and send home practice work.⁵⁹

STAAR sorts scores into levels. From lowest to highest, they are Did Not Meet Grade Level, Approaches Grade Level, Meets Grade Level, and Masters Grade Level.¹³ State law requires accelerated instruction, extra teaching, for students who score below Approaches Grade Level.⁶⁰

Three of the strategies carry costs, which total $15,350 (our addition). They are $7,968.75 for "IXL" and $4,381.25 for what the plan calls only "Resources," both from the state's accelerated education money, plus $3,000 for training and planning from the General Fund.⁵⁹ The district plan also named low applicant pools for open jobs as a prioritized problem and cited larger nearby districts that offer higher starting salaries.⁵⁸

2026, a projected D and a C

On March 9, 2026, the board held a public hearing on the 2024-25 state report, and Pasak presented it.⁶¹ In the video, a presenter whom the video does not name said the economically disadvantaged share stayed near 27.1% and that the district might not be identifying every eligible student. Midyear results on the growth test showed more students growing in reading than a year earlier, the presenter added.⁶²

Trustees asked for a regular view of whether those gains matched STAAR results. One trustee said that if the district got another C, it should not be a surprise.⁶²

On June 8, 2026, the board voted 7 to 0 to approve the 2026-2030 strategic plan, on a motion by Trustee Sara Jane Cantwell (Place 1) and a second by Trustee Brian Caller (Place 5).^17,63,64 Isai Arredondo, Cantwell, Caller, Michele Coronis, Rich Raley, David Scott, and Kevin Walker voted yes.⁶³ The plan sets the district's mission, vision, priorities, and objectives for students, staff, and the community, such as academic growth and recruiting and keeping teachers.⁶⁴ In her report that night, Curran told the board that early STAAR results were not strong and that the district could not yet calculate a projected rating.^63,65

On Aug. 10, 2026, the board met in the library at Lago Vista Elementary. The minutes say Curran's preliminary internal ratings "reflect work that remains to be done" and that the district is committed to supporting campuses and staff.¹⁸ She said TEA's official numbers would come later that week and that she wanted to be "very transparent" with the community.⁶⁶

Her calculations put the district at 75 overall. She said the School Progress score looked like a 69 and that "right now it looks like a D."⁶⁶

In the same presentation, Curran described changes for the new school year. She said the district had a plan for PLCs on paper but that carrying it out was lacking. Teachers would also be asked to give lesson plans to administrators, and campuses would use common assessments. She said the district had moved away from the growth test at most campuses and would use free state tools.⁶⁷

TEA's final 2026 rating for LVISD was a C, 77, two points above the district's projection.^2,66 Student Achievement was a C, 79, School Progress was a D, 68, and Closing the Gaps was a C, 71.² The elementary school earned a C, 71, the intermediate school a C, 78, the middle school a B, 81, and the high school a C, 74.⁶⁸ In the 2026 campus table, the middle school's label changed from additional targeted support to targeted support and improvement (TSI).^55,68 TEA gives TSI to a campus with at least one consistently underperforming student group, and it picks additional targeted support campuses from that list. TEA's manual describes that move as an exit from additional targeted support.¹³

On Sept. 14, 2026, a district presenter proposed goals for 2030 at a board meeting. They would raise the STAAR average from 51 to 60 and the STAAR growth score from a baseline of 67 to 80.⁶⁹ That baseline matches TEA's 2025 Academic Growth score, one of two measures inside School Progress.⁵ TEA's 2026 Academic Growth score was 68.² They would raise attendance from 94% to 96% and CCMR from 73% to 95%.⁶⁹

The presenter said the board was not being asked to approve the goals that night. The state's accountability system will change in 2028, the presenter added.⁶⁹

How the money and staff compare

Percentages, ratios, per-student amounts, and rankings in this story are our calculations from the cited records.

We compared LVISD with seven nearby districts. We added Lorena, Sunnyvale, and Brock, three of the six A-rated Texas districts in 2026 with 1,500 to 2,500 students and 30% or fewer economically disadvantaged students.¹¹

TEA's 2026 ratings were an A, 91, for Lake Travis, a B, 87, for Leander, a B, 89, for Dripping Springs, and a B, 85, for Liberty Hill. Lorena earned an A, 91, with 26.9% of its students economically disadvantaged, against 27.2% in LVISD.¹¹

LVISD spent $12,343 per student on operations in 2024-25, against $12,951 statewide. TEA's report lists recapture on its own line, so these per-student figures do not include it.⁸ Lake Travis spent $11,851 and Leander $11,560.^10,70 Dripping Springs spent $10,932 and Liberty Hill $10,639.^71,72

Lorena spent $12,550.⁷³ Eanes, rated A, spent $13,903, and Sunnyvale, also an A, spent $12,850.^9,74 Brock, rated A, spent $9,928.⁷⁵ Burnet and Marble Falls, both rated C, spent $12,210 and $14,228.^76,77

LVISD put 54.09% of its operating money into instruction, against 54.54% statewide.⁸ Lake Travis, Leander, Dripping Springs, and Liberty Hill each put a larger share into instruction.^{8,10,70,71,72}

Average teacher experience in LVISD was 9.1 years in 2024-25, against 11.2 years statewide. Teacher turnover was 26.9%, against 18.8% statewide.²⁰ Teacher experience at the neighbors was 10.5 years at Lake Travis, 10.6 at Dripping Springs, 10.5 at Liberty Hill, and 12.9 at Leander.^25,26,27,28

Teacher turnover was 19.1% at Lake Travis, 18.5% at Dripping Springs, 21.0% at Liberty Hill, and 16.8% at Leander.^25,26,27,28 Lorena's teachers averaged 12.2 years of experience and 20.6% turnover.²⁹

Beginning teachers made up 20.3% of LVISD teachers, against 7.3% statewide.²⁰ In 2018-19, the year of the A, they made up 3.2%. Turnover was already 24.3% then, but average experience was 11.8 years.⁷⁸

From 2018-19 to 2024-25, enrollment grew 22.5%, from 1,529 to 1,873 students.^8,35 The number of teachers, counted as full-time equivalents, grew about 40%, from 93.4 to 130.9.^20,78 Operating spending per student rose 29.9%, from $9,499 to $12,343, while the statewide figure rose 30.6%.^8,35

The table below puts LVISD beside the neighbors rated A or B, Lorena, and the state average.

Recapture is a payment from districts whose local tax revenue is above what the state formula allows them to keep. The state uses that money to help pay for the Foundation School Program, its main school funding system.⁷⁹ TEA's year-end reports show LVISD's recapture rose from $4,989,491 in 2018-19 to $7,787,621 in 2024-25, with a high of $14,646,241 in 2022-23.^8,35,80 These are payments made, so they differ from the budgeted amounts in our pay story.

The 2024-25 payment was $4,158 per student, against $533 statewide.⁸ TEA's separate recapture spreadsheet carries slightly different totals for some years and estimates $4,211,851 for 2025-26.⁸¹

What research says

The Learning Policy Institute (LPI), a policy research group, reviewed 30 studies and found that teaching experience is positively associated with student achievement gains throughout a teacher's career. LPI also found that teachers gain more when they work in a supportive and collegial setting.⁸²

A 2014 study by Matthew Kraft and John Papay found that teachers in schools at the 75th percentile of professional environment ratings improved 38% more after 10 years than teachers at the 25th percentile.⁸³ A 2013 study of New York City schools found that students in grade levels with higher teacher turnover scored lower in English and math. The effect was stronger in schools with more low-performing students.⁸⁴

On spending, a 2016 study by C. Kirabo Jackson, Rucker Johnson, and Claudia Persico found that a 10% rise in per-pupil spending for all 12 years of school led to 0.31 more years of education. It also led to about 7% higher wages as adults, with larger effects for children from low-income families. That study measured adult outcomes, not school ratings.⁸⁵

These studies describe other places and other years, so they cannot predict a Lago Vista rating.

What it means for taxpayers

The district's 2026-27 tax notice puts the average home in the district at $528,521 in market value and $263,384 in taxable value. At the $1.0169 rate, school taxes on that home come to $2,678.35. Of that, $1,835.52 is the operations tax at $0.6969 per $100 and $842.83 is the debt tax at $0.32 per $100.²²

Not all of the operations tax stays in Lago Vista. In 2024-25, the district's operations property tax brought in $17,177,297 that it kept, plus the $7,787,621 it sent to the state. That means about 31 cents of every operations tax dollar went to the state as recapture.⁸

Recapture grew 56.1% from 2018-19 to 2024-25, while enrollment grew 22.5%.^8,35 The costs listed for the middle school's targeted support strategies total $15,350 (our addition), and the curriculum documents cost about $15,000 a year.^54,59 Together they come to about $30,350 (our addition), roughly 0.13% of the district's $23,117,991 in operating spending in 2024-25.^8,54,59 These are the only costs for these steps that the records we reviewed list, and the district may spend more on them elsewhere in its budget.^54,59 The records we reviewed do not put a dollar value on moving from a C to a B.

One study found larger gains from added spending for children from low-income families.⁸⁵ Studies also tie experienced, stable teaching staffs to higher student achievement.^82,84

Where it stands

The district's 2026 score of 77 matches its 2025 score.^2,5 School Progress was a D in 2023, 2025, and 2026.^2,3,5 The middle school moved off the stricter additional targeted support list in 2026, though it keeps the broader TSI label.^55,68

The presenter said on Sept. 14, 2026, that the 2026-27 district and campus improvement plans would come one month later than usual. The board has not been asked to adopt the 2030 goals, and the state plans to change its rating system in 2028, the presenter said.⁶⁹ Two board seats are on the ballot on Nov. 3, 2026.⁸⁶

What we could not find

• The minutes of the July board meeting where the district presented its ratings update, and any vote count from that meeting.
• The minutes of the September meeting where the district's team presented its proposed long-term goals, and whether the board adopted any goals.
• How much larger the district says the economically disadvantaged share really is, and when its records system was fixed.
• What the growth tests cost, and the record of the decision to drop them at most campuses.
• The text and cost of the district and campus improvement plans that the district delayed.
• A record that puts a dollar value on moving from a C to a B.
• Why the district's number of teachers grew faster than its enrollment.
• Any numeric rating target in the strategic plan the board approved.
• The names and roles of the unnamed speakers in the meeting videos.

What you can do

• Speak at a board meeting. On recent agendas, sign-up to speak runs from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on meeting day.⁸⁶
• Attend a regular meeting. The board meets on the second Monday of each month at 6 p.m. at Lago Vista High School, though dates can change.¹⁷
• Vote on Nov. 3, 2026, when two board seats are on the ballot.⁸⁶
• Look up any Texas district's ratings at TXschools.gov.¹
• Ask the superintendent's office, 8039 Bar-K Ranch Road, for the July 14, 2025, and Sept. 14, 2026, minutes, the presentation slides, and the growth test contracts.¹⁷ The Texas Public Information Act makes records of public spending, such as contracts, public information.⁸⁷
• Ask the same office for the 2026-27 district and campus improvement plans once adopted, with their costs, and for the names of the presenters at the July 14, 2025, March 9, 2026, and Sept. 14, 2026, meetings.
• Ask the same office for any numeric targets set under the 2026-2030 strategic plan, records of any fix to how the district counts economically disadvantaged students, and staffing records that show why teacher numbers grew faster than enrollment.
• Ask trustees what the district will do differently this year and how it will measure progress before the next rating.

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.