Bryan ISD trustees are set to make key decisions on the district’s tax rate Aug. 10, including whether to ask voters to approve a higher maintenance and operations tax rate through a voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE.

The breakdown: The meeting begins with the proposed budget and tax rate before trustees consider adopting the district’s 2026-27 tax rate.

Trustees will also vote on whether to call a VATRE, which would allow voters to decide whether the district may increase its maintenance and operations tax rate. If approved, the item would appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.

November trustee election: Trustees are also expected to adopt the order and notice for the Nov. 3 board election, where two seats are up for election.

• Place 6, currently held by board President Joel Bryan
• Single-member District 2, currently held by Julie Harlin-Wolf

College Station ISD has opened its application for free and reduced meals for qualifying students for the 2026-27 school year.

What you need to know: According to a news release, the school district listed different qualifications for students to be eligible for the program. Automatic eligibility is granted if the student’s family is on food assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations.

Students can also be eligible for the program if the listed family income is below a specified threshold. All applications for income-based free or reduced meals are determined by College Station ISD’s Child Nutrition Specialist and other local agencies.

Before you go: According to College Station ISD, applications for free or reduced meals are accepted throughout the school year. The district began distributing letters with information about the program in late July, but the application is available both online and in person at the College Station ISD Child Nutrition Service Office.

As students in Bryan and College Station ISDs prepare to head back to school this August, each district has provided resources to help families get ready for the new school year.

Bryan ISD: Students’ first day of school is Aug. 12, according to the district’s calendar.

Meet-the-teacher/open house dates:

• Aug. 10 for elementary schools
• Aug. 6 for intermediate
• Aug. 26 for middle

Dairy Queen franchisee Smith Dairy Queens announced a new location will open in Bryan by the end of the year.

The gist: According to a news release, the new location will replace the former Highway 21 location in Bryan. Smith Dairy Queens attributed the closure of the former location to construction on Hwy. 21. However, the franchise has already broken ground on the land after recently being approved by the city of Bryan to commence construction.

What’s next: The site is located off Hwy. 21 in North Bryan, next to a Shell gas station and other fast food restaurants. Along with starting construction, Smith Dairy Queens said it views the new location as a “commitment to BCS, our employees, and our fans for many years to come.”

• To open December 2026

• 2400 East State Highway 21, Bryan

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.