Need to catch up on local government and education news from March? Check out six stories that impact residents in the Spring-Klein area.

In case you missed it: The North Harris County Regional Water Authority on March 3 moved forward on a final design for Project Series 39, a Spring-area project designed to help the district catch up with a mandated 60% groundwater reduction plan.

The $164.96 million project series will construct over 11 new miles of distribution pipeline to local water reclamation facilities. 

Also of note: Harris County workers will now have a seat at the table in discussions about workplace regulations, grievances and salaries after commissioners approved a new policy allowing labor organizations to advocate on behalf of county employees—a first for a Texas county.

Commissioners Court passed the Harris County Consultation Policy on March 19 in a 3-1 vote. 

One more thing: Lone Star College System finished fiscal year 2024-25 with a net income of $163 million, after subtracting expenses from revenues, according to LSCS’ Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.

Officials with Houston area seafood restaurant The Catch confirmed the business has permanently closed its Willowbrook location.

The details: According to officials with The Catch, the location near the Willowbrook Mall closed its doors in the beginning of March. The eatery provided a variety of cajun-style seafood included fried catfish, gumbo, etouffee and shrimp as well as seasonal offerings such as crawfish.

Before you go: The Catch has three other locations open across the Greater Houston region in Conroe, Atascocita and the Meyerland area. 

The Houston Independent Bookstore Crawl is back in 2026 with 31 independent bookstores participating from April 1-30.

The setup: For those interested, participants will need to pick up a bookstore crawl card from one of the participating bookstores and get a stamp. For each store visited, the participant will get a stamp or a signature from the bookseller.

What else: As part of the crawl, a raffle will be held in which participants enter for a chance to win special gifts when they visit 15 bookstores. After the 15th visit, an additional entry will be added to the drawing.

Cards must be dropped off at one of the participating bookstores by April 30 by the time the store closes.

At least 257,000 students have applied for Texas’ inaugural education savings account program, according to the state comptroller’s office. Less than half of those applicants are likely to be accepted.

The overview: Applications for Texas Education Freedom Accounts close at 11:59 p.m. March 31. Students enrolling in private schools will receive $10,474 to spend on tuition and related expenses, while homeschool students can get up to $2,000 each, and students with disabilities may qualify for up to $30,000 each.

Through March 29, about 23% of applicants had indicated they would be homeschooled while 77% of applicants said they wanted to attend a private school, state data shows.

Program funding is capped at $1 billion for the 2026-27 school year, meaning between 90,000 and 100,000 students will likely be accepted.

By the numbers: About 34,000 students indicated in their application that they have a disability, per the comptroller's office. Students who have a disability and are considered low- or middle-income will receive priority acceptance into the program under state law.