The average homeowner zoned to Hays CISD will not see an increase in their property tax bill.

What happened: The Hays CISD board of trustees adopted an amended tax rate Nov. 17, following voter rejection of the proposed tax rate at the polls earlier this month.

The proposed rate was $1.2746 per $100 valuation.

What’s new: The revised rate will remain the same as 2024-25, at $1.1546 per $100 valuation, which is the maximum rate the district can set without requiring voter approval, according to Chief Financial Officer Deborah Ottmers.

This rate includes $0.6669 for maintenance and operations, and $0.4877 for interest and sinking.

What it means: While the tax rate will remain the same, it will raise more revenue for maintenance and operations, due to increased home values.

However, owners of an average homestead valued at $100,000 will not see a change to their tax bill, partially due to the increased homestead tax exemption recently approved by Texas voters.

A salon geared toward kids ages zero to 14 is now open in Kyle.

The gist: Locally owned by Laurie Levano, Sharkey's Cuts for Kids offers a range of services, including:

• Wash, cut and style
• Mini-manicure
• Makeup

• 4211 Benner Road, Ste. 210, Kyle

Learn more about how your commute into the Southwest Austin area could be affected as several major road projects are underway.

Slaughter Lane project:
What's happening: The Slaughter Lane corridor project, spanning FM 1826 to Old Lockhart Road, aims to enhance safety for pedestrians and bicyclists while improving mobility for drivers.

The enhancements included expanding the four-lane thoroughfare to a six-lane divided roadway from MoPac to Brodie Lane.

The update: Crews are active along Slaughter Lane between MoPac and just east of Brodie Lane.

Oak Hill Parkway project:
What's happening: The 7-mile stretch of highway has been undergoing a $677 million facelift since 2021.

The Texas Department of Transportation is currently reconstructing Hwy. 290 in Oak Hill, transforming the existing four-lane, undivided roadway to a six-lane divided highway with new frontage roads and 14 miles of shared-use paths.

The update: The William Cannon Drive bypass bridge is closed as crews connect it to the new main lanes and flyovers.

Eastbound drivers are being detoured to the Hwy. 290 frontage road; the bridge will reopen for westbound traffic once construction wraps up.

Texas cannot use its newly redrawn congressional map in the 2026 election, an El Paso federal court ruled Nov. 18.

The details: The state must instead use the congressional map that Texas lawmakers drew in 2021, after the 2020 census. 

“The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics,” U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown wrote in the Nov. 18 preliminary injunction. “To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 map. But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 map.”

What they're saying: Texas Republican leaders said they would “swiftly appeal” the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

If the court takes up the case, its justices will be pressed for time ahead of the Dec. 8 deadline for candidates to apply to run in the March primary elections.

Texas Democrats celebrated the Nov. 18 ruling as "very good news for Texans."