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.
Leander ISD discusses future of next 2 planned elementary schools
Leander ISD is planning two new elementary schools to address shifting enrollment, including potentially relocating Mason Elementary students to the district’s 32nd campus. The 31st campus would add capacity in the Tarvin, Parkside and Akin feeder areas, while the 32nd would serve students in Travisso and nearby developments, where about 76% of current Mason students live.
Read the full story here.
Leander ISD officials share New Hope High School design plans
Plans are underway to repurpose the former Faubion Elementary campus for New Hope High School, which provides an accelerated, alternative path to graduation for Leander ISD students.
Officials also previously considered repurposing Faubion for the Leander Extended Opportunity Center or the Early College High School, but the ECHS is still being considered for co-location with the new NHHS campus.
Read the full story here.
Austin Community College adopts tax rate
Austin Community College trustees unanimously approved a rate of $0.103643 per $100 of valuation on Sept. 14, up from $0.1034 last year, according to a district announcement. Because property values fell more than the rate rose, college officials said in a district release that the average bill will effectively drop about 2.2% and the average homestead bill by about 1%.
Officials said the owner of an average home will pay about $5 less to the college this year, totaling about $557, down from $562 last year. On a $500,000 homestead, the ACC portion is about $513, according to the district's property tax page. Bills could still rise for homes whose values held steady or went up.
Read the full story here.
Texas districts using state-developed Bluebonnet curriculum saw slight STAAR gains
Texas school districts using the state-developed Bluebonnet Learning curriculum saw slightly better year-over-year achievement last school year than other districts, according to Texas Education Agency data released Sept. 30.
During the 2025-26 school year, 619 of Texas' roughly 1,200 public school districts opted in to implement at least one of the three Bluebonnet curriculum programs, which include elementary math, secondary math and elementary language arts. On average, those districts saw better student performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, than districts that did not adopt the curriculum.
Explore the full story here.
