Students returned to four closing Pflugerville ISD campuses in August for their final first day of school.

The big picture: To address a budget shortfall, declining fund balance, and lowered enrollment trends, the district voted to close Dessau, Parmer Lane, Pflugerville, and Windermere elementary schools at the end of the 2026-27 school year. This action is expected to net about $9.8 million in annual ongoing savings.

Zooming out: The district has identified $42 million in cumulative savings over the next three years, which includes:

• $6 million in savings for 2026-27 through central office and campus reductions, and program eliminations.

• $9.8 million in 2027-28 through campus consolidations, plus $2 million to $3 million in high school planning time reductions.

• $10.2 million in ongoing campus consolidation savings for 2028-29.

The why: Without consolidations, the district would have likely faced a severe financial shortfall by 2029-30, leaving just $5.2 million in its fund balance and risking state intervention.

What's next: District officials say they are planning a “deliberate sequence” over the next year to make the transition easier on students and families.

A $280 million data center is set to begin construction this year in Hutto

More details: Colovore, a California-based artificial intelligence data center developer, will build a one-story, 192,694-square-foot data center located at 2401 Innovation Blvd, Hutto, according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Colovore’s website states the Hutto site “brings premier AI colocation infrastructure to the heart of Austin's booming tech corridor.”

The data center will have a capacity of 40 megawatts and use liquid-based cooling. It will be ideal for “hyperscalers, chipmakers, autonomous vehicle and robotics innovators, cloud and [software as a service] platforms, and public‑sector agencies,” per Colovore's website.

Construction is set to begin on Dec. 1 and wrap up on Dec. 1, 2028.

The center will be located next to what could become a facility for Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space technology company.

Check out some trending stories from the Austin area Sept. 7-10.

1. Pflugerville's Springhill Restaurant to close in October

2. $82M Hwy. 79 widening prepares for next step in Round Rock

3. Scheels, sandwiches and soccer: 13 Cedar Park-area business updates to know this September

4. Snarf's Sandwiches planned for Georgetown

5. Sandy’s Southern Spice closes in Bastrop after owner’s death

6. Austin reports on new homeless encampment management program's early results

Southwest Airlines will open a lounge at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, set to welcome guests in late 2027.

A closer look: The airline also announced on Sept. 2 its first-ever lounges will be built at:

• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport

• Daniel K. Inouye International Airport

• Nashville International Airport

The lounges, including at Austin, are already under construction, according to a Southwest Airlines news release. The company also plans to build seven more lounges at different airports but did not specify where in the release.

Diving in deeper: ABIA is currently undergoing an expansion to accommodate passenger growth.

In July, airport officials announced that June 2026 was the airport's busiest month ever for passenger traffic, servicing 2,102,853 departing and arriving passengers. Southwest Airlines saw the most passenger traffic that month, with 916,510 passengers served, up 10.9% year over year, according to previous Community Impact reporting.

This November, four candidates are running to lead the Texas Comptroller's Office and serve as the state's chief financial officer.

The overview: Libertarian V. Alonzo Echavarria-Garza, Democrat Sarah Eckhardt, Green Party candidate Shehla Faizi and Republican Don Huffines are running for comptroller. Huffines, whom Gov. Greg Abbott appointed to the office in July, is considered the incumbent in this race.

How it works: The comptroller oversees government spending and administers the state's $1 billion education savings account program, which launched ahead of the 2026-27 school year.

Looking ahead: Early voting runs from Oct. 19-30 in the midterm election, and Election Day is Nov. 3.