Trustees pressed Leander ISD finance staff Sept. 30 for adjusted, campus‑level analyses that separate program-driven costs from baseline instructional cost so the board can compare campuses accurately.

CFO Pete explained that campuses with additional programs — for example multiple pre‑K sections, dual‑language offerings or specialized early‑childhood programs — will show higher per‑pupil expenditures than campuses without those programs. He illustrated the point by comparing Cypress Creek and two other campuses: once pre‑K and program differences are factored out, the per‑pupil payroll costs for the campuses were “very close to the district average,” he said.

Trustees said those program differences matter because a simple per‑pupil comparison without adjustments can make efficient campuses appear inefficient and vice‑versa. Several trustees asked administration to produce adjusted per‑pupil comparisons that normalize for program mix, then to propose a methodology for when and how pre‑K should be included in any consolidation-trigger metric.

Board members voiced two distinct positions: some said pre‑K should be excluded from under‑enrollment matrices because pre‑K sites shift year-to-year and skew comparisons; others said the plan must address early‑childhood access district‑wide and that those students and services cannot simply be ignored. The board agreed to park pre‑K for a deeper discussion and to schedule it as one of the early topics in the follow-up meetings.

Pete and other staff agreed to produce the adjusted, apples‑to‑apples comparisons and to place pre‑K on the board’s “parking lot” agenda items for the next round of meetings.