Bastrop ISD will not create a period of prayer in the school day, following a legislatively required vote on the matter taken in February.

What you need to know: Trustees voted not to create a daily period of prayer in its schools, at the recommendation of staff, at a Feb. 17 board meeting.

The vote is required by statute in Senate Bill 11, passed in the 89th Texas Legislature.

The details: Jennifer Eberly, BISD's chief academic officer, said the district does not have a policy that would preclude students of any faith from gathering, praying or otherwise practicing their religious beliefs during the school day as long as they do not interfere with instructional time.

The Bastrop County Commissioners Court is seeking bids for the construction of the new Development Services building.

What's happening: Commissioners set the budget at $10 million in 2024 when they adopted the Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal years 2024-29.

As of Feb. 13, there was a remaining budget of approximately $9.4 million after city staff spent more than $643,000 on engineering and permitting, according to county documents.

What we know: Officials cited limited space for the Development Services Department at its existing location at 211 Jackson St. in Bastrop—a facility that also houses the tax assessor-collector—as the reason for a new building.

Notable quote: “There is not enough space for the demands of the county,” the CIP states. “Moving the Development Services department to their own building and renovating the [existing] building will allow the tax assessor-collector to utilize the entire building they are currently housed in.”

Community members marked the completion of recent preservation efforts for an historic cabin built by Henry Green Madison, Austin's first African American council member, during a February ribbon-cutting at Rosewood Park.

The background: The original cabin was built in the 1860s and later enclosed in a larger structure where it was hidden for decades; it was only rediscovered by a demolition crew in the 1960s and then given to the city by its property owner. A few years later in 1973, the cabin was relocated, reassembled and rededicated in its current home at Rosewood Park in East Austin.

What's happening: Recent restoration efforts, led by the city and Austin Parks Foundation, came together after a 2021 site assessment found the Madison cabin's wood was deteriorating. The project kicked off in late 2024 and construction was completed last summer through hundreds of thousands of dollars in public and private support. Local officials joined Valerie Lott, a Madison descendant, for this year's ribbon-cutting.

With a few days left to vote early in the March primaries, more Texans have turned out to the polls this year than in recent primary elections.

The gist: The increase is particularly pronounced among Democratic primary voters, state data shows, with more than twice as many Democratic votes cast by Feb. 24 than in Texas’ last gubernatorial primary.

Zooming in: Statewide, nearly 1.3 million Texans, or about 7% of the state’s 18.7 million registered voters, cast early ballots through Feb. 24, the eighth day of the 11-day early voting period. This is up from about 6% turnout at the same point in 2024 and about 4% turnout in 2022.

In interviews with Community Impact, election analysts attributed Texas’ rising primary voter turnout in part to a slate of competitive, high-profile races on each party’s primary ballot.

At the polls: Early voting in Texas’ Republican and Democratic primaries runs through Feb. 27, and primary election day is March 3. During early voting, registered voters can visit any polling location within their county of residence.