Keller ISD’s board of trustees had a first look at the upcoming school year’s budget at a regular board meeting Jan. 22, which revealed a projected loss in funding due to declining enrollment.

In a nutshell: Superintendent Cory Wilson said the district budget for the 2026-27 school year will be estimated with the following assumptions:

• No new state or federal revenue
• Flat tax growth
• A balanced budget
• Enrollment decline of 1,083 students
• 94% average daily attendance

The Fort Worth Police Department is looking ahead to future facility needs.

During the Jan. 13 city council meeting, an agreement with Parkhill was approved for an amount of up to $498,500 for a FWPD master plan project.

What’s happening? Parkhill, an architecture, engineering and design solution firm, was selected from 10 bidders, according to city documents. Fort Worth officials advertised the master plan in June and then reviewed and scored the responses in September.

The Lubbock-based company, with offices in Fort Worth and Frisco, will look at the 19 existing police facilities across the city for the police department. Company representatives will assess existing and future facility needs of the department in 20 years and determine the funding needed for improvements in five years and 10 years, according to city documents.

The details: Fort Worth has six primary patrol divisions, divided up by location: Central, North, South, East, Northwest and West. Those fall under two commands, North Command and South Command, according to the city website.

School districts continue to announce prolonged campus closures as roadways remain icy. Several Dallas-Fort Worth school districts announced continued closures for Jan. 29.

The details: As of Jan. 28, the following school districts and colleges have announced that they will be closed Thursday:

• Argyle ISD
• Celina ISD
• Denton ISD
• Frisco ISD

The North Texas region continues to prepare for the FIFA World Cup.

Nine games are scheduled from June 14 to July 14 at Dallas Stadium, which will be the temporary name of AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Mitch Whitten, Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau COO, spoke at the Fort Worth Chamber Economic Impact Forum on Jan. 15 at the Kimball Art Museum on the impact of FIFA holding games in the area. 

The details: He talked about the impact of the games throughout the metroplex. Numbers from the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee expect 100,000 visitors per day, with an estimated economic impact in the region between $1.5 billion and $2.1 billion.

Zooming in: TCU has applied to be a base camp for a team in the region, Whitten said, but FIFA has yet to announce, as national teams have until March to decide where they will train during the event.

FIFA has listed 64 possible base camps, but there are only 48 teams that will qualify for the World Cup.

Four Republican candidates are running for Texas lieutenant governor—the second-in-command to the governor—in the upcoming March 3 primary election.

The big picture: Republican incumbent Dan Patrick is seeking a fourth term in the lieutenant governor's office. The lieutenant governor leads the Texas Senate and can exercise the powers of the governor if the governor dies, resigns, is removed from office or is absent from the state, according to the Texas State Historical Association.

Patrick is challenged by three Republican candidates: Timothy Mabry, Perla Muñoz Hopkins and Esala Wueschner. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes in the Republican primary, a runoff election will be held between the two top vote-getters May 26.

Stay tuned: The winning Republican candidate will face the winner of the Democratic nomination in November. The winner of that election will be sworn in for a four-year term in January 2027.

Three Democratic candidates are running for Texas lieutenant governor—the second-in-command to the governor—in the upcoming March 3 primary election.

The overview: Vikki Goodwin, Courtney Head and Marcos Vélez are seeking the Democratic nomination for Texas lieutenant governor. The lieutenant governor leads the Texas Senate and can exercise the powers of the governor if the governor dies, resigns, is removed from office or is absent from the state, according to the Texas State Historical Association.

Stay tuned: If no candidate receives more than 50% of the votes in the Democratic primary, a runoff election will be held between the two top vote-getters May 26.

The winning Democratic candidate will face the winner of the Republican nomination in November, and the winner of that election will be sworn in for a four-year term in January 2027.