From new school plans to property taxes and statewide test scores, here’s a roundup of recent education news impacting the Cedar Park and Leander area.

The highlights:

• Leander ISD is looking ahead to two new elementary schools as enrollment shifts, with plans that could move Mason Elementary students to a new campus closer to Travisso.

• LISD district officials also shared early design plans for New Hope High School, which will repurpose the former Faubion Elementary campus to offer students an alternative path to graduation.

• Austin Community College trustees approved a slight property tax rate increase, but falling property values mean the average homeowner’s ACC tax bill is expected to drop about $5 this year to $557.

• Across Texas, districts using the state-developed Bluebonnet Learning Curriculum saw slightly higher STAAR performance than districts that did not adopt it, according to new state data. More than half of Texas’ roughly 1,200 public school districts implemented at least one of the curriculum’s math or language arts programs during the 2025-26 school year.

Cool Spot Properties filed a permit to build an event center off Hwy. 29 between Georgetown and Liberty Hill, according to Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records.

Learn more: Project plans include creating a family event center with a skate park, pickleball courts, sand volleyball courts, live music and food options, according to the Cool Spot website.

With a price tag of $2 million, the 15,000-square-foot facility is slated to begin construction in December and finish construction in October 2027, according to the filing.

• 7030 Hwy. 29, Georgetown

Williamson County officials plan to evaluate school crosswalk safety throughout the unincorporated areas of the county, following commissioners' approval of a study at the Oct. 27 meeting.

Learn more: County Engineer Adam Boatright will evaluate school crosswalks on county-maintained roadways. Boatright will lead the effort in coordination with school districts and regional partners to help determine potential safety projects and apply for funding, according to a county news release.

The county’s school crosswalk study is anticipated to be completed in summer 2027.

Why it matters: Last spring, two students were hit by cars while using school crosswalks, Judge Steve Snell said at the meeting. Although crossing guards tend to crosswalks 30 minutes before and after school, students also access these roads outside those times.

"The last thing we want is for a kid to get hurt or possibly anything worse," Snell said.

The county also applied for additional Safe Streets and Roads for All federal grant funding this year for school crosswalk safety improvements.

More than 4.5 million Texans cast ballots in the first seven days of early voting in the Nov. 3 election, state data shows.

The overview: From Oct. 19-25, 23.8% of Texas' 19 million registered voters had voted in-person or by mail, according to voter turnout data submitted by counties and reported by the secretary of state. This is slightly below early voting turnout at the same point in 2018 and several percentage points above turnout in 2022.

Some context: Turnout this fall follows voter enthusiasm during the March primary election, when more Texans voted early than in recent primaries. In total, about 4.5 million people—or one-fourth of voters registered at the time—cast ballots in Texas' March election, setting a primary turnout record.

At the polls: Registered voters can visit any polling place in their county through Oct. 30, the last day of early voting. Election Day is Nov. 3. Texans can read Q&As with dozens of candidates, find local polling sites and print a custom sample ballot at communityimpact.com/voter-guide.