Following approvals for employee raises, stipends and benefit increases, Friendswood ISD officials are projecting a balanced budget for fiscal year 2026-27, according to an update presented at the July 13 board meeting.

The overview: The district projects $70.06 million in both revenues and expenditures for FY 2026-27, resulting in a balanced budget, according to district documents. Compared with the adopted FY 2025-26 budget, both revenues and expenditures are projected to increase by nearly $2.6 million, documents show.

What residents need to know: The district is also projecting a tax rate of $1.027 per $100 valuation of a home for FY 2026-27. Based on that rate, a homeowner with a median homestead taxable value of $424,611 would have an estimated annual property tax bill of about $4,400, budget documents show.

What’s next: Trustees are scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposed FY 2026-27 budget and tax rate at 6:45 p.m. Aug. 24 in the FISD boardroom, located at 402 Laurel Drive, Friendswood.

Several aging wastewater lift stations in Pearland will receive major upgrades after City Council approved a $4.7 million construction contract at its July 13 meeting.

What residents need to know: City Council awarded the contract to Houston-based Nerie Construction to rehabilitate three wastewater lift stations, including Riverstone Ranch, Southdown and Whispering Winds, to improve reliability and replace aging infrastructure, city documents show. The facilities will remain operational during construction, with bypass pumping used as needed to prevent service interruptions, documents show.

Looking ahead: Construction is expected to begin in August, with completion anticipated by November 2027, according to city documents.

Officials with the YMCA of Greater Houston are launching the 22nd year of Operation Backpack, an initiative aimed at providing school-aged children with necessary school supplies.

The big picture: Serving roughly 30,000 community members across the Houston area, the annual backpack collecting and distribution event is kicking off ahead of the 2026-27 school year, YMCA officials announced in a July 10 news release. In order to participate, individuals can drop off new, unused backpacks at any of the 14 locations in the Greater Houston area through August 1.

In their words: "Every child deserves to walk into the classroom feeling prepared and excited to learn," Stephen Ives, president and CEO of YMCA of Greater Houston, said. "With YMCA Operation Backpack, our goal is to remove barriers that stand in the way of a child's success, so every student has the opportunity to connect and thrive. We’re grateful for the volunteers, donors and community partners whose generosity makes this effort possible.”

At least one person has died due to flooding in the Texas Hill Country, Gov. Greg Abbott said July 16.

The details: The fatality occurred along the Guadalupe River between Kerrville and Comfort—downstream from Hunt, where many summer camps are located and the majority of the flooding took place in July 2025. Flooding this year has been more intense downstream than upstream, Abbott said.

Zooming in: More than 70 people have been rescued from floodwaters, and evacuation orders have been issued in multiple parts of South-Central Texas, the governor said.

"We have massive flooding in ... the Greater Kerrville area, but we also are looking at what's been taking place in Uvalde—there are massive challenges in Uvalde as well," Abbott told reporters. "In fact, people need to expect very meaningful flooding in the Rio Grande [Valley]."

The big picture: Parts of South-Central Texas were expected to see more than 30 inches of rain during this week's storms, and 59 counties were under a state disaster declaration.