On Dec. 9, the Northside ISD board of trustees received a briefing on the district’s forthcoming virtual high school program.

Currently known as Northside Connect, the program will be a virtual high school that offers a series of rigorous courses, which offer greater flexibility for students within the district.

The big picture: NISD Superintendent John Craft said the district began looking into forming the program for grades 9-12 after the approach was recently legislated by the state.

Designed primarily for students who need flexibility, the program will offer standard high school courses and will potentially offer dual credit and college-credit opportunities. Craft said the program will give families currently choosing homeschool, charter or other online providers a pathway for education within NISD. The program will also be open to special education students.

What’s next: District officials are currently narrowing down vendors from three to one, with a plan to bring a full proposal Jan. 13. Registration is estimated to open Feb. 4.

Check out this roundup of businesses coming soon to North San Antonio as 2026 approaches.

Coming soon

The Picklr
This new pickleball facility will feature approximately 34,000 square feet of indoor courts, meeting spaces, locker rooms and more.

• 16648 San Pedro Ave., San Antonio

• 2323 Lockhill Selma Road, San Antonio

• 1723 N. Loop 1604 E., Ste. 108, San Antonio

• 300 Alamo Plaza, San Antonio

A $72.78 million roadway expansion project geared toward increasing mobility and safety along the FM 1518 corridor is seeing progress in Bexar County.

The project—dubbed FM 1518 Expansion—is being led by the Texas Department of Transportation and consists of reconstructing 5.6 miles of FM 1518 by widening the existing roadway and making two 11-foot lanes in each direction, according to TxDOT.

A 34-foot-wide raised center median, a 10-foot-wide shared-use path on the east side of the roadway and a 6-foot-wide sidewalk along the west side of the roadway are also being constructed as part of the project.

Latest update: Construction of the eastern half of the Trainer Hale Road intersection in Schertz, new northbound lanes and shared-use path south of Trainer Hale were completed in 2025, according to TxDOT. In partnership with CPS Energy and the city of Schertz, TxDOT also completed utility upgrades and continued underground storm sewer and drainage work.

This November, Texas voters approved 17 constitutional amendments, also known as state propositions. Here’s what’s next for some of those propositions and what they mean for Texans.

The overview: Texas voters authorized the state to spend $1 billion annually on water supply funding, totaling $20 billion over a two-decade period, through Proposition 4. Funding will flow into the Texas Water Fund, a state account created in 2023 to help finance water projects.

However, state law requires that the money does not begin moving into the water fund until September 2027, and it will not be available for grants until 2029. Until then, state agencies, water utilities and local organizations will need to plan for funding, adjust rules and processes to align with recent state laws and update Texas’ water and flood plans, according to the Texas Water Foundation.

More details: Texas homeowners were set to see expanded property tax breaks on their 2025 tax bills under Propositions 11 and 13. Four other property tax exemptions approved by voters will take effect Jan. 1.