The Austin-area's Pflugerville ISD Chief of Staff Brandy Baker will join the Cy-Fair ISD administration in January, officials announced in a Dec. 16 news release.

Read all about it: Baker replaces CFISD Chief of Staff Teresa Hull, who is retiring from the district effective Dec. 31. Hull joined CFISD in 1993 and was promoted to chief of staff in 2011, per the district’s website. 

Baker was promoted to PfISD’s chief of staff in 2022 and worked with CFISD Superintendent Doug Killian when he served as superintendent of the Austin-area school district. 

More details: Before her appointment as chief of staff in 2022, Baker served as PfISD’s chief academic and innovation officer for four years, where she oversaw academic systems and district instructional programing, according to the news release.

Quote of note: "What drew me to Cy-Fair is how clearly the district places students at the center of its work and focuses on learning that prepares them for what comes next," Baker said in a statement. 

Truckloads of food, toys, beds, blankets and other essential items were delivered to Harris County’s animal shelter Dec. 15 as part of ‘"Santa Paws," a collaborative holiday project with Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey’s office. 

Quote of note: “What makes Santa Paws so special is seeing the generosity of our community and their commitment to helping animals,” Ramsey said in a news release. 

The setup: More than 1,000 items were collected at various Precinct 3 locations, and Ramsey said community members from the following organizations were part of the initiative:

• Harris County Pets
• Friends of Harris Pets
• Mystic Mutts Groomers
• Sheffield Liquidators of Crosby
• Local rescue groups, fosters and volunteers

Texans now have a new database to track the results of local bond propositions and tax rate elections, or TREs, in their communities and across the state.

The details: Texas’ Local Government Bond, Tax, and Project Transparency Database was unveiled after state lawmakers passed House Bill 103 this spring. The new law requires the comptroller to compile information about all bonds, tax rate elections and maintenance tax rate changes proposed by local governments in an election, including:

• Ballot language for all tax-related proposals
• How each tax measure would impact the local tax rate or debt service
• The difference between the adopted tax rate and voter-approval tax rate, if applicable
• The entity’s tax rate for the prior year and the tax rate following the election
• A list of projects funded by each tax measure
• The results of each election, including votes for and against a measure