At its Aug. 24 public tax hearing, the Magnolia ISD board of trustees approved the new property tax rate and budget for fiscal year 2026-27. The newly approved tax rate is lower than the previously approved tax rate due to the recently passed 2026 bond. 

By the numbers: Presented by Erich Morris, the MISD assistant superintendent of operations, the tax rate for FY 2026-27 is $0.9325 per $100 of home valuation. The tax rate is broken down into two portions of revenue:

• Maintenance & Operations: $0.6399
• Interest & Sinking (debt service): $0.2926

• General operating fund: $169.2 million
• Debt service fund: $40.5 million
• Child nutrition fund: $8.59 million

Tomball City Council informally directed the Tomball Economic Development Corporation on Aug. 21 to seek demolition quotes for portions of Legacy Square, while leaving the former church campus’ final uses unresolved.

No formal vote was taken and no demolition contract was approved, but about $500,000 is budgeted for the work. Mayor Lori Klein Quinn was absent.

“I think we need to just stick to our guns and move forward,” Mayor Pro Tem Paul Garcia said. “I just don’t want to be talking about this again next year.”

The details: City Council’s Aug. 17 direction calls for preserving the main sanctuary, 1949 chapel and fellowship hall while removing other buildings.
TEDC board member Wayne Hall also proposed pricing the possible demolition of the fellowship hall to give officials another option. Council did not direct that building to be removed.

Texas’ audit of hundreds of proposed data centers will likely wrap up by the end of the year, grid officials said Aug. 20.

The overview: Up to 300 proposals will be audited to ensure they meet certain criteria before the data centers can begin connecting to the state electric grid. If all the plans are approved, these facilities alone could use about 200 gigawatts of electricity—more than twice Texas’ 91-gigawatt peak demand record, which was set on July 22.

How we got here: On Aug. 3, Gov. Greg Abbott directed ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas to audit proposed data centers regarding their water and electricity use; tax exemptions; impacts on residents; and facility ownership.

More details: Only large loads, or facilities that are expected to use at least 75 megawatts of electricity, will be fully audited. However, ERCOT will also survey proposed data centers that would use 25 megawatts of electricity or more.

ERCOT plans to release reports detailing the results of the audit and surveys on Dec. 10, officials said.

Texas voters will choose from Republican Bo French, Libertarian Arthur DiBianca and Democrat Jon Rosenthal in this November's Texas Railroad Commission race.

The details: The winner of the race will be sworn in to replace incumbent Commissioner Jim Wright in January.

French beat Wright in a May Republican primary runoff, advancing to the general election. Rosenthal ran uncontested in the March Democratic primary, while DiBianca was selected as the Texas Libertarian Party's candidate during an April nominating convention.

Did you know? The three-member railroad commission does not have any jurisdiction over the state's railroads—that authority was transferred to the Texas Department of Transportation and the federal government by 2005, according to the commission's website. Instead, the agency regulates Texas' oil and gas industries.

Looking ahead: Early voting in dozens of local and state races runs from Oct. 19-30, and Election Day is Nov. 3.