Texas ISDs carry $148.2 billion in bond debt funded by I&S property taxes that are exempt from recapture. While M&O taxes get redistributed through the state, I&S revenue stays 100% local. The result: property-wealthy districts build college-scale stadiums with money the state can never touch, and fast-growing suburbs bond against residents who haven't moved in yet.

South Texas ISD collects both local property taxes and full state aid while paying zero recapture. A 1963 legislative loophole, $226 million in cumulative surpluses, and a Texas Supreme Court fight over a tax that voters last approved in 1974, for a different purpose.

RGV districts outscore Austin ISD on STAAR by 13-42 points among economically disadvantaged students. On the SAT, Austin is middle of the pack. Same demographic, two tests, very different results.

Three Texas districts now enroll 50,000 virtual students and draw $432 million a year in state aid. The mechanism: contracted virtual academies that dilute per-pupil property wealth below the recapture threshold, turning small towns into some of the state's largest per-capita aid recipients.

Dobie, Webb, and Burnet each posted a fourth straight failing rating. A fifth triggers state takeover. Houston's three-year head start on the same path shows what Austin is about to inherit.

274,000 Texas families applied for school vouchers. Florida's two-year data shows what comes next for Austin ISD: enrollment cliffs, a growing deficit, and no way to measure if it worked.

Austin ISD faces a $181 million deficit while property values have tripled, the state's rainy day fund has doubled to $23 billion, and the per-student allotment has barely budged in seven years even after HB2. This report traces the dollars through recapture, charter growth, and flat state funding to show how the system works and where the pressure comes from.