New Braunfels City Council approved an interlocal agreement between the New Braunfels Police Department and the Hill Country Community MHMR Center on Jan. 26 that looks to strengthen the city’s response to mental health-related calls.

What it means: The agreement formalizes a partnership to implement a qualified mental health professional within the police department’s dispatch center. The agreement comes from the Texas Interlocal Cooperation Act and supports the Comal County Mobile Crisis Outreach Program, which is led by the center, according to agenda documents.

The center will recruit, hire and supervise a mental health professional to work full-time alongside police dispatchers. The clinician will provide real-time consultations on nonviolent, nonemergency behavioral health calls, assist with risk assessments and help connect individuals to appropriate mental health resources, according to the agreement.

New Braunfels ISD trustees learned what is fueling stagnant student enrollment growth, and how private and charter schools may affect the district’s outlook over the next decade at a meeting Jan. 12.

What happened: Trustees reviewed a demographic and enrollment forecast, highlighting how housing growth, population shifts and the Texas Education Freedom Accounts are playing in a new demographic study from Population and Survey Analysts.

The study was presented during a Dec. 8 meeting by PASA, a Texas-based firm hired by the district to conduct a comprehensive demographic study. The study aims to help guide long-term planning for facilities, attendance zones and enrollment capacity, according to board documents.

Digging deeper: NBISD continues to experience population growth, largely driven by new housing developments, such as Veramendi, but student enrollment continues to plateau. Between 2019 and 2025, the district gained approximately 350 students, while the population within district boundaries increased by an estimated 3,000-4,000 residents, according to PASA’s data.