The Comal ISD board of trustees unanimously approved a $355.49 million budget for fiscal year 2026-27 with a $27.99 million shortfall June 25.

What we know: The district is prioritizing academic success and construction; facilities growth and planning; student safety and support; college, career and military readiness; and employee recruitment and retention. About 62% of the district’s budget is allocated toward instruction, followed by district operations, according to a June 25 budget adoption public hearing presentation.

Next steps: The CISD board will approve its tax rate in August after receiving the maximum compressed rate from the Texas Education Agency. The district's tax rate is expected to be around $1.0748 per $100 valuation, about the same as FY 2025-26.

Newly elected New Braunfels Mayor Michael French said infrastructure, growth and rebuilding trust with the community will be some of his top priorities after winning the June runoff election with 62.39% of the vote.

He said his early priorities will be to fix roadways like Common Street, Hwy. 46, FM 725, FM 1044 and Loop 337. Hwy. 46, FM 725 and Loop 337 are Texas Department of Transportation roads.

Common Street and FM 1044 are city roads that recently received improvements, and Commons Street is receiving improvements following approval of the voter-approved 2023 Bond, Proposition A.

“We need our roads to be better,” French said. “We have to work with some roads TxDOT is in charge of ... I don’t want projects going on for months at a time. I want projects done at a good pace.”

Plein Air Exhibition
The Hays County Arts Alliance will open its inaugural Plein Art Exhibition, bringing together plein-air paintings created this spring at locations throughout Hays County that feature water. Those attending the exhibition will find paintings from local artists completed at locations such as Garison Memorial Park along Onion Creek, Blue Hole Regional Park in Wimberley, Madrone Springs Ranch in Dripping Springs and the Meadow Center for Water and the Environment in San Marcos. 

• June 27-Aug. 6

• Free (admission)

• 303 Main St., Buda

The Faust Hotel live music series
The Faust Hotel will host a free live music series this summer, featuring tunes from local artists. Musician Andi Holleman will take the stage on the hotel’s Magnolia Patio this Friday. Guests can listen to live music, and dine on light bites and craft cocktails in downtown New Braunfels. 

• July 3, 7-10 p.m.

• Free (admission) 

• 240 S. Seguin Ave., New Braunfels

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas operates the state power grid, overseeing the flow of electricity to over 27 million customers. Yet ERCOT does not directly participate in Texas’ electric market or own any of the facilities that deliver power across the state.

The big picture: Power generation plants, transmission facilities and distribution lines are owned by outside companies, meaning that local power outages are typically isolated and handled by individual companies, rather than ERCOT.

How it works: In 1999, Texas legislators passed a law deregulating the state’s retail electric market. The law was designed to “introduce competition in Texas’ electric market by allowing consumers to choose their retail electric provider,” according to ERCOT.

Previously, most Texas utility companies owned all aspects of the electric supply chain, including generation, transmission and the delivery of power to customers.

Today, approximately 85% of electric customers in Texas can choose their retail electric provider, including those across the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth regions. Customers in Austin and San Antonio get their electricity from municipally owned utilities.