Community Impact compiled compensation for superintendents, teachers, and staff at 15 public school districts in the Austin area to compare trends across the metro as budgeting season wraps up for most districts.

By the numbers: According to the 2025-26 school year data from the Texas Education Agency, Lake Travis ISD had the highest-paid superintendent at $483,116, while Pflugerville ISD had the highest average teacher pay at $69,917.

The highest student enrollments for the 2025-26 school year were:

• Austin ISD

• Round Rock ISD

• Leander ISD

• The lowest student enrollments were:

• Eanes ISD

• San Marcos ISD

• Dripping Springs ISD

The northward extension of Kenney Fort Boulevard is one parcel closer to being constructed after city officials approved the purchase of just over 8 acres for the roadway Aug. 27.

The big picture: In addition to this right-of-way purchase, which cost $2.8 million, city officials approved the allocation of $15.5 million toward similar purchases for both the Kenney Fort and the Wyoming Springs Drive extension.

Breaking it down: Of the $15.5 million allocated, $10 million is set aside for future acquisitions to complete Kenney Fort, Thane said.

The other $5.5 million is dedicated to the Wyoming Springs extension from its existing terminus in the Behren’s Ranch community to FM 1431.

What’s next? Thane said the extension to Kenney Fort is under design, and that the city has a few more parcels of land to acquire before the project can be bid.

Salt Traders Coastal Cooking is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in September.

On the menu: Salt Traders offers a variety of seafood dishes including a raw bar with oysters, crudo and nigiri.

To celebrate the anniversary, the restaurant will be offering a $10 special Sept. 8-17. The special includes a select drink and an item from the “bar snack” menu, such as fried oysters, hush puppies and kettle chips.

The details: The restaurant has two locations, one in Round Rock and the other along South Mopac.

• Austin: 1101 S. Mopac, Austin
• Round Rock: 2850 N. I-35, Round Rock

A data center in Hutto, the Texas Municipal Center in Georgetown and a 7 Brew in Austin are among the five most expensive projects filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in the Austin metro this week.

1. Colovore Hutto ($280 million): This project involves the construction of a 192,694-square-foot, one-story data center building.

2. Texas Municipal Center ($60 million): The Texas Municipal League will be relocating its headquarters to downtown Georgetown.

3. Frontier ER ($2 million): This project involves the construction of a freestanding emergency medical facility.

4. C Store ($1.2 million): A new C store convenience store is coming to Bastrop, with construction expected to conclude next September. 

5. 7 Brew ($400,000): A new 7 Brew location will be coming to Austin. The drive-thru coffee shop has locations in Manor and Round Rock.

Voters in the newly redrawn US House District 37 will choose their representative on Nov. 3, with early voting running Oct. 19-30. Community Impact asked candidates in competitive races to answer a set of questions on their motivations, priorities, and vision for the district.

Read the full Q&A for details on each candidate's platform ahead of the general election.

The Texas comptroller's office is requesting that lawmakers provide more than $2 billion for the state's education savings account program, which subsidizes private education and homeschooling for participating families.

How we got here: The legislature created the program in 2025, allocating $1 billion for the 2026-27 school year. Nearly 110,000 students have received state dollars from the program so far, and officials said funding should be doubled to ensure more students can enroll in the next two years.

Zooming in: According to the comptroller's legislative appropriations request for the 2028-29 biennium, it would cost:

• $916 million per year to continue funding the roughly 110,000 students currently enrolled

• $82 million annually would be needed to fund siblings of participating children who will soon qualify for the program

• $980 million per year to provide funding for more than 106,000 students on the program's waitlist

Something to note: The comptroller's $2 billion base budget request would not fully cover the waitlist and interest list, which would cost nearly $4 billion for the 2027-28 and 2028-29 school years.