Two Spring ISD schools will be closing starting next school year as the district faces falling enrollment and a $13 million fiscal year 2025-26 budget shortfall.

Two-minute impact: During its Dec. 9 regular board meeting, the SISD board of trustees made the decision to close Link Elementary School and Dueitt Middle School starting in the 2026-27 school year. According to the release, SISD campuses have been operating at 60% capacity.

Quote of note: “Closing Link and Dueitt is truly a heartbreaking decision,” board President Justine Durant said. “With campuses operating at nearly 60% capacity and reductions in federal funding, we are facing realities that require hard choices. We will not be fiscally responsible if we do not address these challenges now, even when the decisions are difficult.”

The background: SISD leaders and the district’s board of trustees have been discussing the decision since November 2024 as part of the District Optimization Plan, as previously reported by Community Impact. Planning began following the failure of the district's voter-approval tax rate election Nov. 5, 2024.

Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital will turn 25 years old Dec. 18, marking a milestone for the Northwest Houston medical facility.

Read all about it: Located off Hwy. 249, the hospital opened in 2000 with just 50 employees and less than 100 beds, officials told Community Impact. Nearly 25 years later, Houston Methodist Willowbrook had more than 25,000 patient admissions in 2024, and the hospital’s bed capacity has grown to 358.

Looking back: In an interview with Community Impact, several hospital officials highlighted Willowbrook Hospital's growth in the last 25 years, such as opening the North Pavilion tower in 2010, launching a midwifery program in 2018 and establishing an obstetrics and gynecology residency program in 2025. 

Quote of note: “I can guarantee since I’ve been here [for] 25 years, we are not practicing the same medicine we did 25 years ago,” obstetrics and gynecology physician Dr. Stacey Norton said. “We keep up to date, and I think that’s one of the ways that our medical students and residents keep pushing us.”

Bath and Body Works officials said the fragrance company is now offering services at the new Tomball Crossing location.

The details: Per the company website, Bath and Body Works has 1,934 locations in the U.S. and Canada. The global leader in personal care and home fragrance items offers fragrance mist, body lotion, body cream, 3-wick candles and home fragrance diffusers.

Officials from Montgomery and Harris counties are working with state officials in hopes of preserving a large tract of land poised for development near Benders Landing, per a Dec. 11 news release.

What's happening? Per the release, Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner Ritch Wheeler, Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey and state Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, are working with representatives from Gov. Greg Abbott's Office and General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham to explore options for preserving the land, which is located between Spring Creek and the West Fork of the San Jacinto River.

Some context: Previously owned by RYKO Development and slated for the construction of 7,000 new homes, the land was sold to Scarborough Group earlier this year. During a town hall in April, Wheeler said area residents expressed concerns about the development's potential impact on traffic, flooding and drainage.

Why it matters: Wheeler noted the green space preservation, if successful, could be beneficial to residents in both Montgomery and Harris counties.