ATX-CPF: Impact 10/22/2025

Round Rock ISD earned an "A" rating in the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas for the 2024-25 financial year, administrators shared in October. 

What you need to know: The Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas scores districts as A through F. This rating is based on 15 different metrics, such as audit and governance disclosures, cash and investments, tax collections, fund balance, debt management, administrative costs, capital projects, and staff levels.

Remember this? Last year, the district earned a rating of 96 out of 100. This year, RRISD earned the same score, translating to an A or "superior" rating.

Phat Tracks Books & Records is bringing its punk rock aesthetic to Cedar Park when it opens in early December.

The details: Owner Thomas West said he wanted to build a store stocked with items that other major outlets snub. West said the store will stock more than 200 dark romance titles and 300 horror novels, among others, in addition to a wide selection of vinyl, CDs, and cassettes.

“Amazon and Apple are actually turning into some of our biggest supporters by convincing people to own the music they like rather than licensing it,” West said. “I’m a big fan of physical media.”

What else?: The store also publishes its own in-house zine called “Ignite," which accepts submissions for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography and art.

• Opening Dec. 6
• 401 E. Whitestone Blvd., Bldg. C, Ste. 104, Cedar Park

Williamson County will apply for over $1.4 million in federal grants to support the juvenile justice system and help prevent at-risk youth from entering the justice system following commissioner approval at a meeting Oct. 14.

Explained: The federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention offers grants for local governments to fund programs or other intervention initiatives that prevent juvenile delinquency.

Williamson County is seeking two OJJDP grants:

• $633,555 for mentoring youth affected by substance use
• $815,804 to support youth exposed to violence

As water restrictions and shortages become more common in Texas communities, state lawmakers are asking voters to approve $20 billion to fund new water supply projects and improve existing systems over the next 20 years.

The overview: If voters approve State Proposition 4, which is on the November ballot, the state will create a dedicated funding stream to help local utilities access more water and upgrade their infrastructure. Without the new funding, Texas’ water crisis could deepen, experts say.

“We’ve got 1,500+ people moving to Texas every day, and not one of them is bringing a single drop of water with them,” Dean Sharp, who leads the management division of the Texas American Water Works Association, said Oct. 16.

Key takeaway: Despite the $1 billion annual price tag, Proposition 4 would not create any new state taxes or increase costs for Texans, lawmakers and experts said. Beginning in 2027, the money would come from existing sales tax revenue and be deposited in the Texas Water Fund, a state account that voters approved in 2023.