HTX-SLM: Impact 8/22/2025

With community concerns of possible school closures and rezoning to balance unstable enrollment across the Fort Bend ISD, district officials say the goal of the three-year boundary planning is to create a more equitable, student-focused system, emphasizing a commitment to informing the community of the importance of these changes for student success.

The situation: Bob Templeton, president for Zonda demographic firm, said downward enrollment trends are happening statewide due to lower birth rates, demographic shifts, limited housing turnover and growing competition from school choice programs, including the upcoming 2026 Texas voucher rollout that will subsidize private school tuition for a limited number of families.

Keep in mind: In March, Beth Martinez, FBISD deputy superintendent chief of staff, said the first year of boundary planning will address the Austin, Bush, Crawford, Elkins, Kempner, Hightower, Ridge Point and Travis feeder patterns.

However, she said scenario development is still underway, and the School Boundary Advisory Committee, or SBAC, composed of district staff and community members, will begin evaluating proposed boundary scenarios this week.

Missouri City residents are expected to see the same tax rate for the third year in a row.

What residents need to know: The tax rate proposal, which was approved by City Council at an Aug. 18 meeting, keeps the city’s tax rate at $0.570825 per $100 valuation for fiscal year 2025-26.

Chief Budget & Performance Officer Bertha Alexander said the city’s tax is a combination of the:

• Maintenance and operations tax rate at $0.455029
• Interest and sinking tax rate at $0.115796

Layne’s Chicken Fingers is set to open its doors this fall in Missouri City.

The chicken eatery, which opened in College Station in 1994, has over 30 locations including five in the Houston area, according to its website.

On the menu: The menu is centralized around the restaurant’s chicken tenders, fries, toast and signature Layne’s sauce, said franchisee Masroor Fatany, who also owns The Halal Guys.

Guests can also order several milkshake flavors including vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, salted caramel and oreo, according to its website.

Zooming out: Fatany is also set to open a franchise at 132 E Airtex Drive, Houston on Aug. 30 with a grand opening celebration with the first 50 customers receiving free Layne’s for a year.

He is also slated to open a location at 28225 Southwest Fwy, Rosenberg, sometime this fall with more locations planned for 2026.

• 5801 Hwy. 6, Missouri City

New data from Fort Bend County Health & Human Services announced as part of the county’s Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan found area families are struggling to meet healthcare needs, with disparities across demographic groups.

Zooming in: The research, conducted in partnership with UTHealth Houston School of Public Health and Rice University’s Kinder Institute, will “serve as a vital resource for Fort Bend County stakeholders, residents and cross sector community partners,” according to an Aug. 6 news release.

By the numbers: Residents self-reported generally positive physical and mental health, with only 11% and 13% rating it as “poor or fair,” respectively, data shows. However, 56% of residents reported having a chronic medical condition, with hypertension and high cholesterol being most common.

Only 12% of residents reported having no health insurance, data shows. Of those residents, young adults and Hispanics were most likely to be uncovered, at 22% and 23%, respectively.

Diving in deeper: Additionally, the study found that 73% of residents live in households with high or marginal food security, data shows.

What's happening: House lawmakers approved six bills Aug. 21, all of which were drafted in response to the July 4-5 floods that killed at least 137 people in Central and West Texas.

Lawmakers said the bills were designed to mitigate the damage of future floods by requiring youth summer camps to implement approved disaster plans, establishing licensing requirements for local emergency managers and facilitating the development of a statewide emergency communications plan.

What they're saying: “We have a chance now to right these wrongs, to say ‘Never again,’” Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo, said on the House floor.

Also of note: The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country announced the organization will invest $40 million into a housing fund for victims of the July 4 flooding.

At an Aug. 21 press conference in Kerrville, Gov. Greg Abbott said the nonprofit’s housing fund will help affected Texans receive new housing within months.