Conroe ISD approves balanced budget for FY 2025-26
Conroe ISD has approved a balanced budget for fiscal year 2025-26, including a tax rate that will remain the same as FY 2024-25, according to discussion at the Aug. 19 meeting.
How we got here: CISD Chief Financial Officer Karen Garza presented the tax rate and proposed FY 2025-26 budget at the Aug. 5 meeting, as previously reported.
By the numbers: The FY 2025-26 budget includes $761.05 million in both projected estimated revenues and expenditures. The proposed tax rate of $0.9496 per $100 valuation is the same as FY 2024-25.
Highland Pine Coffee Company is now open in Montgomery, owner Taryn Fiebiger said.
The details: The coffee shop offers a variety of items, including matcha, espresso drinks, pastries and some bites, Fiebiger said. She said the shop will also have board games in the near future for customers to enjoy.
Montgomery ISD approves FY 2025-26 tax rate, marking no change from last year’s rate
Montgomery ISD's board of trustees approved its tax rate for fiscal year 2025-26 at its regular board meeting Aug. 19.
What you need to know: The tax rate for FY 2025-26 is $1.0912 per $100 valuation, which is the same as FY 2024-25's rate. An Aug. 19 news release from MISD said the district’s FY tax rate is made up of two parts:
$0.3743 per $100 valuation for the interest and sinking tax rate, which is used to pay off debt from voter-approved facilities
$0.7169 per $100 valuation for the maintenance and operations tax rate, which funds the general operations of MISD, including teacher salaries and classroom instruction
Remember this: The FY 2025-26 tax rate approval comes almost a year after voters approved MISD’s voter-approval tax rate election to secure $5.5 million in additional revenue for the district. MISD’s board of trustees also recently approved a $104.9 million balanced budget for FY 2025-26 at its meeting June 24.
Conroe City Council approves agreements with CISD for infrastructure improvements
During its Aug. 14 meeting, Conroe City Council approved agreements with Conroe ISD to coordinate on school facility improvements and city infrastructure upgrade projects.
The details: Purchasing Contract Administrator Brandy Taylor told council the agreements involve properties outside city limits that could be annexed in the future.
Taylor said CISD has agreed to comply with city ordinances after hearing concerns from Barton Creek subdivision residents. The agreements include keeping a private road for stacking and access, while the city will maintain water and sewer service.
The city’s portion of the costs will be about $346,650, funded from savings on another water and sewer project, according to the agenda item.
Council also approved an agreement among the city, CISD, Montgomery County MUD 207 and Bradbury Development Limited for planned infrastructure improvements. Taylor said the project, previously supported by U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw’s, R-Houston, office, will not cost the city anything. According to the agenda, the cost breakdown is:
See which charter amendments will be on Conroe’s November ballot
During its Aug. 14 meeting, Conroe City Council members approved 15 out of 17 proposed charter amendments to be included on the November ballot.
What you need to know: Conroe city staff hosted two town hall meetings where residents provided feedback and shared requests to be included as charter amendments, including single-member districts, allowing the mayor a vote and adding more council member seats.
Attorney Charles Zech will spearhead the city charter amendments and act as legal counsel for the process, as previously reported.
During discussion at the Aug. 13 workshop meeting, council member Howard Wood said he did not see the residents' request in the charter amendments brought forth to council and was alarmed at how quickly the amendments were pushed onto the upcoming election.
City Administrator Gary Scott said other amendments could be added to the charter at a later date.
Amendments that did not make the November ballot include switching city council member terms from four years to two years and removing council member offices within city hall.
Texas House approves mid-decade congressional redistricting plan
The Texas House signed off on a plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts Aug. 20. The vote came two days after approximately two dozen House Democrats ended a two-week walkout in protest of the redistricting effort.
The overview: Rep. Todd Hunter, a Corpus Christi Republican who filed the proposed map, said 37 of Texas’ 38 congressional districts would be redrawn, with “the primary changes focused [on] five districts for partisan purposes.”
“While there's no guarantee of electoral success, Republicans will now have an opportunity to potentially win these… five new districts,” Hunter said.
The debate: House Democrats decried Texas’ proposed map as “illegal and racially discriminatory,” arguing that it would “dilute” minorities’ voting power by dividing historically Black and Hispanic communities into multiple districts.
“Texans and Americans all across the country are watching,” Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, said. “They know this map before us is a calculated maneuver to diminish the voices of the very communities that power Texas.”
House Republicans maintained that race was not considered when the new lines were drawn.
Lone Star College-Montgomery receives $1.5 million art endowment
The Lone Star College-Montgomery Fine Arts program has received a $1.5 million Nathaniel Emerson Endowment along with six donated art pieces, the college announced Aug. 15.
What to know: The campus will use the funds to add more state-of-the-art equipment, workshop events and professional speaker series, according to the news release. At LSC-Montgomery, the endowment and donated art pieces will help establish new avenues for learning, according to the release.
