That never works. XML enforces strict nesting, so both the closing and
ending tags for a child element have to be within the parent element.
Remember that an XSL stylesheet is also an XML document.
I agree that it would sometimes be handy, but then it wouldn't be XML.
Instead, you need something like this:
<xsl:if test="district_active='1'">
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="substring(full_name,1,6) = 'Vacant'">
<a>
<xsl:attribute name="href">stuff</xsl:attribute>
<xsl:value-of select="'Vacant'" />
</a>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<a>
<xsl:attribute name="href">stuff</xsl:attribute>
<xsl:value-of select="full_name" />
</a>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:if>
Disclaimer: I rearranged that pretty quickly, so it may be off a bit, but
I trust it gives the idea. Also, I truncated the attribute content just to
make this snippet more readable.
Happy coding.
Jay Bryant
Bryant Communication Services