Northwest ISD’s board of trustees heard a presentation from Zonda Demographics about development and growth updates pertaining to the district during their regular Aug. 24 meeting.

The reports show that while new home starts and closings are down across Dallas-Fort Worth, those same data sets within NISD are increasing and enrollment is projected to hit more than 37,000 students by the 2035-36 school year.

The gist: Stuart Keogh, an educational advisor with Zonda Demographics, said while the housing market within Dallas-Fort Worth and nationwide have slowed due to elevated affordability, interest rates and economic uncertainty, Northwest ISD is still projecting growth.

According to the presentation, NISD had 32,839 students enrolled for the 2025-26 school year. That number is expected to jump by 8.38% to 35,591 students by the 2030-31 school year and by 13.5% to 37,273 students for the 2035-2036 school year.

Keogh said notable updates for the second quarter of 2026 include:

• 1,290 homes under construction
• 5,850 available house lots
• 31 possible future subdivisions with 41,500 single-family lots
• Groundwork underway on 6,400 lots

Tarrant County commissioners voted to reduce the number of Election Day and early voting polling locations.

Commissioners approved 47 early voting locations and 224 Election Day voting locations by a 3-2 vote during the Sept. 1 meeting. County Judge Tim O’Hare, Precinct 3 Commissioner Matt Krause and Precinct 4 Commissioner Manny Ramirez voted to approve the locations, while Precinct 2 Commissioner Alisa Simmons and Precinct 1 Commissioner Roderick Miles Jr. voted against the motion.

The details: Since tabling consideration at the Aug. 4 meeting, county elections staff added more locations going from 176 to 224. However, the 224 Election Day polling locations is a 29.11% decrease from the 316 Election Day polling locations used for the 2022 midterm election.

County elections staff created a preliminary list of 269 polling locations, Tarrant County Elections Administrator Clinton Ludwig added, but reduced the final list to 224 to maintain a balanced number of polling locations by precinct and avoid having sites too close to one another.

Celebrate fall with 14 Oktoberfests, harvest fairs, Halloween festivals and more events happening across Dallas-Fort Worth. This list is not comprehensive.

GrapeFest in Grapevine
Explore Texas winemaking at the 40th annual GrapeFest in Downtown Grapevine. The festival will include food and drink, live music and entertainment and activities for all ages.

• Sept. 17, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sept. 18-19, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sept. 20, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
• $6-$25 (admission)
• 705 S. Main St., Grapevine

Oktoberfest in McKinney
Celebrate Bavarian tradition at McKinney’s Oktoberfest with live music, cultural performances, games, food and artisan shopping.

• Sept. 25, 2-11 p.m.; Sept. 26, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sept. 27, 12-5 p.m.
• Free admission
• 111 N. Tennessee St., McKinney

Denton’s Day of the Dead Festival
Denton’s Day of the Dead Festival brings together elements from Día de Muertos, Halloween and other fall traditions, including performances, local food and drink, a twilight lantern parade, coffin races and more.

• Oct. 23, 7 p.m.; Oct. 24, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Oct. 25, 12-5 p.m.
• Free admission
• 225 W. Hickory St., Denton

Texas senators indicated Sept. 1 that they intend to tighten regulations on data centers during next year’s legislative session, which begins in January.

What they're saying: “I think every member's district has had an impact from a data center conversation, so there will be plenty of bills trying to put things in place that are reasonable, responsible regulatory frameworks for data centers,” state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, said.

The big picture: With some Texas residents and conservation groups sounding the alarm about water-intensive technologies used by some data centers, state agencies have warned that limited information is available on how much water the industry actually uses. Officials said they have also had trouble determining exactly how many data centers are operating in the state today, as there is no “comprehensive statewide list” of existing and planned facilities.

Estimates from state agencies and the University of Texas at Austin suggest that roughly 370 data centers are currently operating in Texas, with about 100 facilities under construction and another 180 being proposed.