Zonda Demographics provides enrollment projections for roughly 100 school districts in Texas, according to data from the company. Rocky Gardiner, the company's director of school district consulting, said the company produces both short-term and long-term projections, up to 10 years. 

The details: Gardiner said district leaders use the short-term, one-year projections to guide staffing and budget planning, and long-term projections to plan when to open or close a school.

“We have the technology to help them see what it looks like if a school gets closed or a school gets added with how that impacts their enrollment going forward,” Gardiner said.

Zooming in: Predicting school enrollment has become more complicated since COVID-19 due to more school options such as virtual schools, homeschooling and charter schools, Gardiner said.

When Gardiner first started doing enrollment projections in 2006, the projections were primarily based on new housing, with the development patterns showing an average of about six new public school students per 10 new homes built, but that number has dropped, Gardiner said.

The McKinney Planning and Zoning Commission is recommending approval of a specific use permit for a minor vehicle repair shop on Coit Road.

The overview: Commission members voted unanimously during a Sept. 22 meeting for the proposed Integrity 1st Car Pros location. The recommendation will be forwarded to McKinney City Council for final consideration on Oct. 20, according to a city document.

If approved, the permit would enable minor vehicle repair uses on nearly 0.8 acres east of Coit Road. Plans include development of a 4,885-square-foot automotive service building, according to a letter of intent.

More information: City staff are recommending approval of the permit and have received zero letters in opposition, city planner Destinee Reynolds said. The property is surrounded by retail and restaurant uses to the north, office uses to the east and multifamily uses to the south, according to a city document.

Ono Hawaiian BBQ is celebrating the grand opening of its McKinney location in October.

The gist: The restaurant will serve Hawaiian barbecue chicken, chicken katsu, teriyaki chicken, kalua pork and more, according to a news release. Ono Hawaiian BBQ also serves a variety of appetizers and sides including crab rangoons and macaroni salad.

Also of note: The McKinney location’s grand opening will feature giveaways and special promotions.

• 4610 W. University Drive, Ste. 110, McKinney

Six new restaurants are now open in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, offering a variety of dining experiences:

• LSA Burger Co. opened Aug. 13 in Celina, featuring a menu named after Texas music legends.
• BreadHaus opened Sept. 5 in Frisco, offering scratch-made artisan baked goods free of commercial yeast, preservatives and artificial additives.
• Luna Loco opened Aug. 21 in Keller, serving Mexican favorites like tostadas, enchiladas, street tacos and burritos.
• PopUp Bagels opened Aug. 21 in McKinney, selling bagels by the bag alongside a choice of several schmears.
• Original ChopShop opened Sept. 23 in Richardson, serving protein bowls, salads, sandwiches, all-day breakfast, juices and protein shakes.
• Hudson House opened Sept. 14 in Southlake, featuring a menu with burgers, sushi, a raw bar and martinis.

The Texas Education Agency is asking state lawmakers to spend $97.3 billion on K-12 education initiatives and staffing in the next two years, up from about $91 billion in the current state budget.

The details: During a Sept. 29 hearing on the agency's legislative appropriations request, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath noted that the TEA is "largely a pass-through vehicle to fund schools around the state of Texas." This means that while funding would be allocated to the agency under Article III of the state budget, the majority of that money would be sent to school districts, outside of funds used to pay TEA staff and cover operations for associated entities, such as the State Board of Education.

The TEA is asking for about $49.6 billion for fiscal year 2027-28 and $47.7 billion for fiscal year 2028-29, totaling $97.3 billion for the 2028-29 biennium. Morath said those amounts would "preserve 100% of all funding for public schools" through the Foundation School Program, which is the state's main funding source for K-12 schools, and other initiatives.