Two closely watched issues will not go before Conroe voters this November following an Aug. 13 City Council meeting.

Council members voted to send a proposed firefighter collective bargaining election to a committee after city officials said key election deadlines had already passed. In a separate 2-3 vote, council rejected placing a binding referendum on the city’s use of automated license plate reader systems, including Flock Safety cameras, on the Nov. 3 ballot.

What happened: Council members David Hairel and Shana Arthur voted to place the ALPR question on the ballot, while Mayor Pro Tem John Sellars and council members Ken Blevins and Kristin Hoisington voted against the proposal. The measure needed three affirmative votes to move forward.

Hairel, who made the motion, said the vote was less about whether council members supported the cameras and more about who should make the final decision.

“Tonight’s question isn’t cameras or no cameras,” Hairel said. “It’s whether three council members trust the people of Conroe to decide for themselves.”

Montgomery County commissioners wrapped up several days of budget talks Aug. 13 with a roughly $552.7 million working budget for fiscal year 2026-27, adding about $15.4 million in expenses to the preliminary spending plan while proposing a higher property tax rate.

The preliminary budget filed in July totaled $537.3 million and included about $6.28 million in unallocated funding for commissioners to distribute during workshops. The budget has not been formally adopted, with commissioners expected to return Sept. 8 for public hearings and final action.

By the numbers: A major piece of the final workshop discussion centered on employee pay and staffing.

The working budget includes a 5% across-the-board pay increase and continued law enforcement pay parity beginning in June 2027. Commissioners also added positions to the Sheriff’s Office and constable offices, with 15 newly added positions ultimately identified across those departments, including patrol deputies, an Internet Crimes Against Children investigator and other support positions. Three County Clerk positions were also included.

At the regular board meeting on Aug. 18, Conroe ISD will discuss several items concerning district academic scores, the proposed tax rate, and the district's official budget. 

Items worth mentioning

As previously reported, on Aug. 4 the CISD board of trustees reviewed the preliminary budget and tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year. The preliminary budget for FY 2026-27 is $769.6 million, with a projected property tax rate of $0.9496 per $100 valuation.

At this upcoming meeting, the board will hold a public hearing before they vote to formally adopt the proposed tax rate and budget.

Alongside the public hearing, the board will also review the scores regarding the 2026 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) 3-8 and STAAR End-of-Course (EOC) exams. 

Conroe ISD managed to outperform the state in multiple categories, and fell behind in other subjects such as math. 

The district will discuss an update to the Math Curriculum Implementation Strategy to possibly address these shortfalls. 

Ahead of the 2026-27 school year, public school leaders in Community Impact’s coverage areas shuttered at least nine individual schools to respond to repeated state accountability issues and stave off state intervention. A new Texas Education Agency rule may make it harder for districts to do so in the future.

The details: Beginning Aug. 16, if a district closes a D- or F-rated campus and transfers the largest share of students from the closed campus to a school with a C, D or F rating, the closed campus’ rating will be assigned to the new campus. 

Districts will only avoid transferring a shuttered school’s rating history if they relocate a plurality of students to an A- or B-rated campus.

Stay tuned: The TEA is scheduled to release A-F ratings for the 2025-26 school year on Aug. 14. If a school receives five failing ratings in a row, the TEA is required under state law to close that campus or replace the district’s board of trustees with a state-appointed board of managers.