SATX-NSA: Impact 10/29/2025

During the Oct. 6 North East ISD board of trustees meeting, the board received an evaluation of the district’s bilingual and ESL programs, which showed that the district’s emergent bilingual population has increased year over year from 20.11% in the 2023-2024 school year to 20.74% in the 2024-25 school year.

In a nutshell: During the presentation, Alicia Calderon, senior director of bilingual and ESL programs, said the increased emergent bilingual population of around 150-170 students is not as significant as previous years, which have seen a steady increase in the percentage of emerging bilingual students from 11.6% in the 2016-17 school year to over 20% in the current school year.

A new Homewood Suites by Hilton, with rooms designed for long-term stays, is coming to North San Antonio in 2026.

The details: Owned by Krishna RIM SA LLC and managed by BH Hospitality Management LLC, the hotel will feature 147 suites, with studio and one-bedroom suites equipped with full kitchens and separate living and sleeping areas.

The hotel will also feature approximately 5,000 square feet of rentable meeting space. The owners will also have leasable retail space in front of the hotel.

• 16115 Vance Jackson Road, San Antonio

The first tenant of the Schertz Station development—a 257,000-square-foot retail and commercial space off of I-35 North and Cibolo Valley Drive—is now open for business.

What you need to know: Panera Bread opened at 18406 I-35 N., Ste. 700 on Oct. 20. The fast-casual restaurant serves sandwiches, soups and salads; along with drinks like signature teas and lemonades.

What else? Schertz Station is developed by Merit Commercial Real Estate, a San Antonio-based investment and development company, and is expected to have a Smoothie King, Chipotle and Portillo's opening before the end of 2025. 

• 18406 I-35 N., Ste. 700, Schertz

Texas homeowners could see larger property tax breaks on this year’s bills if voters approve two state propositions on the Nov. 4 ballot.

The details: Proposition 13 would raise the property tax exemption on a Texas homeowner’s main residence, known as a homestead exemption, from $100,000 to $140,000. Proposition 11 would give homeowners who are over 65 years old or have a disability a $200,000 exemption.

The exemptions would apply only to taxes charged by public schools.

The impact: Sen. Paul Bettencourt, the Houston Republican who authored the legislation, estimated in June that the average Texas homeowner would see about $484 in annual savings if the tax cuts are approved by voters, with roughly $950 in savings for seniors and people with disabilities. These estimates do not account for potential tax rate increases by local governments.

If voters approve the two ballot measures, the cuts will take effect for the current tax year and appear on homeowners’ upcoming tax bills, according to the Texas House Research Organization.