The city of Allen is planning to use over $400,000 in federal grant funds to support its home repair program and a local nonprofit.

Allen City Council approved its 2026-27 annual action plan for the Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, program at a July 28 meeting.

The big picture: The city is expecting to receive $468,647 in CDBG funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for fiscal year 2026-27, said Assistant Director of Community Enhancement Erin Jones.

“CDBG funds are federal grant funds that come down to us and then we are tasked with implementing them,” Jones said. “These are not general fund dollars.”

The specifics: Of the total $468,647:

• $335,647 will go toward Allen’s home repair program
• $70,000 will go toward public service
• $63,000 will go toward program administration

RaceTrac is spending nearly $20 million to remodel 30 stores in North Texas, according to a company news release.

The specifics: The remodeled stores began reopening in May and will continue to reopen through the end of the year. Remodels include the following updates:

• A full grab-and-go pizza bar

• A redesigned coffee area

• A refreshed Swirl World frozen yogurt bar

• Updated interior graphics, signage, paint and décor throughout

• Reorganized shelving

Five locations in Plano, four in Frisco, two in Fort Worth and one each in Allen, Denton and McKinney are among the RaceTracs set for a remodel.

The Federal Aviation Administration will invest $23.7 million in Dallas Love Field Airport to enhance the travel experience for families.

Southwest Airlines will add new routes out of Love Field starting in early 2027, and Amazon Web Services is partnering with Southwest Airlines for technology improvements.

Federal Aviation Administration investments: According to a news release, the FAA grant will be used to reconstruct passenger boarding bridges, making it easier for families with small children to board and deplane.

The grant is funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. More than $5 billion has been allocated since 2022, a year after former President Joe Biden signed it into law, authorizing $550 billion in new investments and programs.

Amazon Web Services: Southwest Airlines and Amazon Web Services will work on a transition from an on-premises environment to a cloud-based, artificial intelligence- and agent-enabled architecture by 2028, according to a news release.

Southwest Airlines: Southwest Airlines will add a new route from Love Field to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. The route starts March 11, 2027.

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.

Across Texas, public school districts have approved at least 150 campus closures in the last three years as they grapple with declining enrollment, state accountability issues and hefty budget shortfalls.

What's happening: Among the closures are 56 schools in Community Impact’s coverage areas. Some districts have said that additional closures are not off the table.

Roughly 76,000 fewer students were enrolled in Texas public schools during the 2025-26 school year than the year prior. This marks the first non-pandemic enrollment drop in recorded history, according to Texas Education Agency data collected annually since 1987.

Analysts warn that this year’s enrollment decline is not a one-off, with demographics expert Bob Templeton predicting that enrollment could “drop over 100,000 kids” next year.

What they're saying: “This was a decision that I made, even knowing some of the challenges our students are going to face, because I think the alternative is untenable,” Fort Bend ISD board President Kristin Tassin said as the district voted to close seven elementary schools ahead of the 2026-27 school year.