The Judson ISD board of trustees voted 5-2 to close Ed Franz Leadership Academy, Park Village Blended Learning Academy and Rolling Meadows Elementary during a Feb. 24 special meeting.

The two dissenting votes were Trustees Laura Stanford and José Macias Jr.

The overview: The district previously approved the closure of Judson Middle School during a special Feb. 16 meeting, which will yield the district an estimated average annual savings of $2.5 million, as previously reported by Community Impact. Each elementary school closure will save the district $1.5 million, or a total of $4.5 million annually. The closures will take effect in the 2026-27 school year and look to combat a $37 million budget shortfall.

The Feb. 24 decision brings the total number of schools closing at the end of the 2025-26 school year in the district to four, amounting to an anticipated annual savings of $7 million, or 19% of the total shortfall, according to a campus consolidation packet from the district's Feb. 9 special meeting.

CAVA, a Mediterranean-inspired, fast-casual restaurant chain, has officially opened in Northeast San Antonio.

The latest update: CAVA opened at 18406 N. I-35 frontage road, Ste. 300, within the new Schertz Station development, on Feb. 25.

Louie Lovejoy, the regional director for CAVA, said their mission is to bring heart, health and humanity to food.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be in Schertz Station and grow our presence in the area," Lovejoy said in a news release.

On the menu: CAVA serves "build-your-own" bowls and pita wraps topped with Greek-inspired items like tzatziki, harissa and various dressings, according to the menu.

• 18406 N. I-35 frontage road, Ste. 300, Schertz

With a few days left to vote early in the March primaries, more Texans have turned out to the polls this year than in recent primary elections.

The gist: The increase is particularly pronounced among Democratic primary voters, state data shows, with more than twice as many Democratic votes cast by Feb. 24 than in Texas’ last gubernatorial primary.

Zooming in: Statewide, nearly 1.3 million Texans, or about 7% of the state’s 18.7 million registered voters, cast early ballots through Feb. 24, the eighth day of the 11-day early voting period. This is up from about 6% turnout at the same point in 2024 and about 4% turnout in 2022.

In interviews with Community Impact, election analysts attributed Texas’ rising primary voter turnout in part to a slate of competitive, high-profile races on each party’s primary ballot.

At the polls: Early voting in Texas’ Republican and Democratic primaries runs through Feb. 27, and primary election day is March 3. During early voting, registered voters can visit any polling location within their county of residence.