Conroe City Council reviewed roughly $210 million in identified drainage projects on Sept. 10, but stopped short of moving forward with a proposed stormwater utility fee. Active grant-funded drainage efforts are currently limited to home elevations and property buyouts. The city has included about $5 million in drainage work for fiscal year 2026-27, which is less than 10% of the identified projects.

The discussion: Council did not vote on the stormwater utility fee, and a proposed $4 residential charge was not adopted. Staff was directed to continue evaluating the issue and provide additional cost information.

How we got here: The proposed fee was estimated to generate about $4.43 million annually to help address nearly $11.9 million in capital needs. Residential customers would pay a flat $4 monthly fee, while nonresidential properties would pay based on impervious surface area.

Also of note: Council declined to advance a proposed 4% increase to water and sewer rates that was scheduled to take effect Oct. 1.

For the 2026-27 school year, Conroe ISD has implemented new learning materials to support student development, which the board of trustees reviewed on Sept. 16.

Some context: CISD Deputy Superintendent Ted Landry presented a breakdown of the new instructional material, Savvas Envision + Math, which is being implemented for grades K-12. Additionally, the district is in its second year of the Bluebonnet Learning ELAR program, a free internal curriculum created by the Texas Education Agency to cover 100% of state reading standards. CISD is utilizing grants to fund two educational coursework programs to support these efforts:

• Coursemojo: an AI-powered teaching tool featuring a personalized assistant named Mojo, is in the onboarding phase at 10 campuses.

• Untapped Genius: funded by a Learning Acceleration Support Opportunities grant, brings in coaches to improve classroom instruction and support administrators implementing the Bluebonnet Learning ELAR program for grades K-5.

With the start of Lone Star College System’s fall semester Aug. 24, a new bachelor’s degree in education is now being offered at two centers.

The update: The Bachelor of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education and Teaching is now available at the LSC-Atascocita Center in northeast Houston and the LSC-Creekside Center in Tomball, a spokesperson for LSCS confirmed via email Sept. 9.

Students can graduate from the two-year program as teachers certified in early childhood education-third grade or early childhood education-sixth grade, as previously reported by Community Impact.

Quote of note: “There is a great need for professionals in this field, and we look forward to serving more students and helping prepare them for meaningful careers in early childhood education,” said Nadia Pickwoad, LSCS division operations manager of the Educator Preparation Program.

According to the August monthly housing update from the Houston Association of Realtors, the number of single-family home sales has decreased by 11.5% across the Greater Houston region.

The breakdown: With the decrease in single-family home sales, affordability rates for home owners saw year over year growth for 22 of the last 25 months, HAR data shows. The nationwide growth rate stood at 15 out of the last 25 months.

When compared to single-family home sales in 2019, the 2026 market has seen a 20.1% decrease overall.

In their words: “Buyers have more options and more time to make decisions, while sellers continue to benefit from relatively stable prices," HAR Chair Theresa Hill with Compass RE Texas, LLC - Houston said. "That's a healthier environment for consumers and a positive sign for the long-term strength of our market.”