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The city of Liberty Hill has been awarded a $750,000 grant by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission for improvements at City Park, according to a social media post from the city.

The project: The money will go toward the “Heart of the Park” project, which aims to create a community gathering place in the park.
The city says the project will include:

• An amphitheater
• A great lawn
• Space for food trucks, vendors and outdoor programming 

Liberty Hill ISD is asking students to return to school on six additional Fridays that were not previously included in this school year’s calendar.

The big picture: In early January, the Texas Education Agency denied a waiver that would’ve allowed LHISD to dedicate required instructional minutes to professional development for staff. Beginning with the 2025-26 school year, the agency is no longer approving staff development waivers for districts with a four-day-school-week calendar, according to TEA information.

What parents need to know: LHISD students must attend school Jan. 30 and Feb. 6 to make up for bad weather days in which school was cancelled Jan. 26 and 27 due to severe winter weather. If students did not make up the two missed days of school, the district’s calendar would be short on state-mandated operational minutes.

Additionally, the district announced it will require students to attend school on four more Fridays in March and May that were not scheduled in the current academic calendar, including:

• March 6
• March 27
• May 8
• May 15

Round Rock City Council unanimously approved an interlocal agreement Jan. 22 to join a regional task force aimed at reducing vehicle-related crimes across Central Texas.

The setup: The agreement brings Round Rock together with the cities of Hutto, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander and Pflugerville, along with Williamson County, to create a Regional Vehicle Burglary Suppression Taskforce.

The task force will focus on investigating auto thefts, vehicle burglaries and catalytic converter thefts through coordinated, multiagency enforcement efforts.

Assistant Police Chief Tom Sloan told council members the agreement formalizes cooperation that already occurs among neighboring jurisdictions, noting that many vehicle crime suspects operate across city boundaries.

“A lot of Round Rock suspects do not live in Round Rock,” Sloan said. “They live elsewhere. By approving this interlocal agreement, we can work together to better address catalytic converter thefts, auto thefts and vehicle burglaries.”