At its Aug. 4 special meeting, the Conroe ISD board of trustees reviewed a presentation from John Robuck, managing director at BOK Financial Advisors, and CISD Chief Financial Officer Karen Garza focusing on the district's budget, compensation plan and tax rate for fiscal year 2026-27.

The framework: As previously reported in April, CISD was on pace for a balanced budget for the 2026-27 school year. Garza maintains this projection as the district nears the official budget and tax rate adoption date on Aug.18.

The preliminary budget for FY 2026-27 is $769.6 million, with a projected property tax rate of $0.9496 per $100 of valuation. This current budget is lower than the initial proposal in April, which was $770.42 million.

• Personnel changes: $1.71 million
• Compensation plan: $0.7 million
• Other expenses (utilities & supplies): $1.68 million
• Teacher incentive allotment: $1 million
• TRS insurance plan: $2.5 million

My Friend in RAL has recently begun offering services to support Montgomery County locals looking for residential assisted living in July. 

Two-minute impact

My Friend in RAL is owned and operated by local resident Pamela Clark. While the business was legally formed in February, the business recently started to offer its services in July.  The focal point of the business is to support families in the process of choosing a residential assisted living facility. 

“I provide complimentary placement and advisement services to North Houston area families; think of me as your friend in residential assisted living, right at your side to help you find safe, reputable, and well-suited living and care,” Clark said. 

Clark currently operates My Friend in RAL from her home. She has said a large reason for opening this service was due to her own experience of being an unexpected caregiver for her late father. 

• Opened in July

• https://myfriendinral.com

Tamina residents and officials with the city of Shenandoah and Montgomery County announced the pending completion of Phase 1 of the Tamina water and sanitary sewer connection project July 30. The project will provide the unincorporated community with public utilities from Shenandoah after a long history of water issues in the area.

Construction started in November 2023, and funding for the project came from $21 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated by the county as well as $750,000 in ARPA money from Shenandoah to bring new water and sewer infrastructure to the area. The community is in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city of Shenandoah, which managed the project.

Why it matters: The history of the Tamina community dates back to when it was established in 1871, founded by formerly enslaved people after the end of the Civil War. Some of the descendants of the people who established the community still live there, Shenandoah Mayor John Escoto said.

Travelers flying through Houston's William P. Hobby Airport now have a new off-airport parking option with the opening of Hobby Airport Parking on July 13, according to a news release from Paquin Public Relations.

What you need to know: Located 2.5 miles from the airport, the new facility offers uncovered and covered parking, along with complimentary shuttle service, according to the release.

There are several events happening in The Woodlands area this weekend, Aug. 6-9, including movies on the lawn, Church Project’s back-to-school event and Rock the Row. Events are subject to change.

Movies on the Lawn
The Woodlands Mall is continuing its outdoor movie series on the lawn in the courtyard. Families will have a chance to grab dinner and relax over a movie in one place on Aug. 6, for "Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie."

• Aug. 6; 7-9 p.m.
• Free (admission)
• 1201 Lake Woodlands Drive, The Woodlands

• Aug. 6-9; times vary by concert
• Admission price varies
• 2005 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands

At least 85,000 students will use Texas' new education savings accounts during the 2026-27 school year, an Aug. 3 report shows. Enrollment may grow as the school year kicks off and more families opt in to the program.

The overview: The Texas Education Freedom Accounts program gives families state funds to send their children to private schools or homeschool them, with priority going to students with disabilities and children from low-income households.

About 24% of students participating in the TEFA program have a disability, according to state data, and 80% of participants are from low-income families.

Zooming in: The largest numbers of students participating in the program live in Texas’ largest school districts, data shows. The report lists that 3,327 participants live in Houston ISD’s boundaries, followed by 2,645 participants from Dallas ISD, 2,271 participants from Northside ISD and 2,024 participants from Fort Bend ISD.

Previous state data showed that about 43% of students selected for the program had previously attended a Texas public school, although the Aug. 3 report did not include that information.