Liberty Hill ISD officials, staff and community members gathered recently to celebrate the opening of two new campuses and the district’s new operations center.

During the three ribbon-cutting ceremonies held July 31, district officials shared information about the new facilities and welcomed students for the upcoming school year, which begins Aug. 12.

What to expect: Legacy Ranch Middle School—which previously housed classes for students of the neighboring Legacy Ranch High School—will welcome about 600 middle school students and staff.

Lariat Trails Elementary School, which was funded through the 2023 bond, has the capacity to accommodate up to 1,000 students. The campus, which is the district’s eighth elementary school, covers over 100,000 square feet.

“It’s going to be a great year here in Liberty Hill ISD as we open up elementary school number eight, which it just seems like every year we seem to be opening a new one,” LHISD Superintendent Travis Motal said. “We’re very committed to that here at [LHISD] to provide great schools for all of our community.”

As Leander continues to grow, several businesses oriented around lifestyle and entertainment are moving into the area. Here's a list of new businesses now open, moving around or coming to town. 

Now open:
Westlake Dermatology
The new clinic will offer comprehensive medical and aesthetic dermatology care in the Leander Union development along Crystal Falls Parkway. As of late July, appointments are available for booking at the Leander clinic.

• 10860 E. Crystal Falls Parkway, Bldg. 2, Ste. 230, Leander

Atomic Wings
The halal-friendly restaurant is now serving wings, fried chicken and more in Southbrook Station. Atomic Wings offers classic dishes such as chicken sandwiches, tenders and fries.

• 144 South Brook Drive, Ste. 130, Leander

Coming soon:
Limegreen Southeast Asian Grill
Limegreen will open in Southbrook Station mid-August. Beyond Limegreen’s signature customizable bowls, the business’ online menu features Vietnamese sandwiches, spring rolls and wings.

• 145 South Brook Drive, Ste. 120, Leander

A housing development in Pflugerville, an apartment complex in Austin and pool expansions at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Cedar Park are among the five most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Carmel East Phase 4 ($529.9 million): Carmel East Phase 4 is part of the final 954-homesite expansion of the Carmel Master-planned community in Pflugerville, Texas.

2. Aluna ($75 million): This project involves the construction of 7,305 square feet of leasing office and clubhouse space for a 372-unit apartment community.

3. Veterans Memorial Pool Expansion ($10.5 million): This project includes a proposed 8,000 square-foot wave pool building, a 1,250 square-foot event building and a 3,000 square-foot splash area at Veterans Memorial Park.

4. AA AUS Lounge ($10 million): This project includes interior renovation of the American Airlines lounge in the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

5. Westlake Dermatology ($5 million): This project involves the construction of a 4,262-square-foot building that will be the site of a new Westlake Dermatology location.

At least 85,000 students will use Texas' new education savings accounts during the 2026-27 school year, an Aug. 3 report shows. Enrollment may grow as the school year kicks off and more families opt in to the program.

The overview: The Texas Education Freedom Accounts program gives families state funds to send their children to private schools or homeschool them, with priority going to students with disabilities and children from low-income households.

About 24% of students participating in the TEFA program have a disability, according to state data, and 80% of participants are from low-income families.

Zooming in: The largest numbers of students participating in the program live in Texas’ largest school districts, data shows. The report lists that 3,327 participants live in Houston ISD’s boundaries, followed by 2,645 participants from Dallas ISD, 2,271 participants from Northside ISD and 2,024 participants from Fort Bend ISD.

Previous state data showed that about 43% of students selected for the program had previously attended a Texas public school, although the Aug. 3 report did not include that information.