McKinney ISD’s Choose McKinney—a program allowing out-of-district transfer students and facilitating other transfer types—has generated about $1 million in revenue during the 2025-26 school year, district officials said.

Choose McKinney allows kindergarten through eighth grade students within the district and from surrounding areas to attend MISD schools.

The specifics: When district officials launched the Choose McKinney program in early 2025, the primary focus was to attract interdistrict transfers, Assistant Superintendent of Communications Shelly Spaulding said. The district currently has about 150 total interdistrict transfer students in the 2025-26 school year, Deputy Superintendent Melanie Raleeh said.

Quote of note: “Our out-of-district families, they're wanting to come in because they've heard great things about McKinney ISD, and so they want to be a part of what we're doing here in McKinney,” MISD Administrative Services Specialist Megan Richards. “That has been a huge draw for us.”

🌮 Chuy’s is set to open its first McKinney location in 2026, Communications Manager Hailey Fitch confirmed. The restaurant will be located on the south side of West University Drive on a 1.92-acre site in the area of the West Grove development, according to city planning documents.

The gist: Planning documents show a roughly 6,600-square-foot building will be constructed, which will include a bar as well as an outdoor patio space.

The menu at Chuy’s features a mix of Tex-Mex dishes including enchiladas, tacos, burritos, flautas, quesadillas and more. Other menu items include fajitas, soup, specialty sauces and margaritas, according to its website.

Quote of note: “We’re excited to bring Chuy’s to McKinney and introduce guests to our one-of-a-kind take on Tex-Mex, featuring fresh, made-from-scratch dishes, signature ‘ritas, and our famous creamy jalapeno sauce—all served in a fun, eclectic atmosphere,” Fitch said in an email.

📍8405 W. University Drive, McKinney

🎈Interested in news from businesses in the McKinney area? Check out 13 businesses now open, coming soon and other updates from in and around central and East McKinney.

1. Balloons by J: The store sells a variety of balloons including latex, foil and more, as well as balloon arrangements and pinatas.

• Opened Oct. 15
• 3325 E. University Drive, McKinney

• Opened Nov. 21
• 3540 W. University Drive, Ste. 300, McKinney

A new hospital is set to be built in McKinney after city officials approved the project, and Dallas Area Rapid Transit's $2 billion Silver Line transit rail is now open and connecting travelers to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. 

See details on these stories and more in a list of the top six most-read stories from Community Impact's Dallas-Fort Worth coverage areas from Dec. 1-5.

McKinney council approves zoning for new Texas Health hospital near Trinity Falls

Prosper ISD sets middle school attendance zones for 2026-27 school year

Silver Line connects riders from Plano, Richardson to DFW Airport

Lewisville ISD superintendent proposes moving programs out of surplus buildings

15 business, restaurant updates from Grapevine, Colleyville, Southlake

Check out 14 places for children to play indoors around Dallas-Fort Worth

🗺️ Texas can use its newly redrawn congressional map in the 2026 elections, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Dec. 4.

The background: State lawmakers approved the new congressional boundaries this summer, after President Donald Trump asked them to produce a new map in an attempt to help Republicans maintain a narrow majority in the U.S. House, Community Impact previously reported. Texas Republicans have said they hoped the map would help the GOP secure 30 of Texas’ 38 congressional seats, up from 25 Republican-held seats today.

What's happening: The Supreme Court's ruling overturns a Nov. 18 injunction from an El Paso federal court, which deemed Texas’ redistricting plan "racially gerrymandered” and directed officials to use a 2021 congressional map instead.

“The District Court improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign, causing much confusion and upsetting the delicate federal-state balance in elections,” the Supreme Court said in the unsigned Dec. 4 order.

The order comes just four days before the Dec. 8 deadline for Texas candidates to file to run in the March primary elections.