1. The Cy-Fair ISD board of trustees approved the 2022-23 budget with unanimous support June 13, including 2% salary increases for all employees as well as a $1,000 stipend for full-time professionals and a $2,000 stipend for full-time paraprofessionals and hourly workers.
2. With new master-planned community Dunham Pointe breaking ground and new residents wondering about the potential of Texas Central’s future high-speed rail project cutting through their homes, Community Impact writers recapped the project’s history and looked to its future.
3. Three of the four North Harris County Regional Water Authority board incumbents who ran for re-election were unseated in the Nov. 8 election. Leading up to Election Day, Community Impact conducted Q&A's with candidates.
4. In a close race, Lina Hidalgo, the Democratic incumbent Harris County judge, won her re-election campaign against Republican Alexandra del Moral Mealer in the Nov. 8 election. Leading up to Election Day, Community Impact conducted Q&A's with candidates.
5. Developers made significant progress in master-planned communities such as Dunham Pointe, Bridgeland, Towne Lake and Marvida this year. Click here to see what developers were planning at the start of 2022.
6. Naressa MacKinnon, Kevin W. Stertzel and Robert O. Paiva won seats on the Harris County Emergency Services District No. 9 board in the May 7 election, unseating three incumbents.
7. The Texas Supreme Court issued a 5-3 ruling upholding Texas Central’s right to use eminent domain to construct its planned high-speed railroad between Houston and Dallas on June 24.
8. Driven by an active real estate market and rising sales prices of single-family homes, residential property values in Harris County rose significantly from 2021-22.
9. In October, the U.S. Social Security Administration announced an 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment for 2023—the highest increase in Social Security benefits since 1981.
10. The results of an equity audit by an outside firm were presented to the Cy-Fair ISD board in January, offering insight as to areas of strength and opportunities for improvement by the district.
11. The Cy-Fair ISD board unanimously voted to name Elementary School No. 57 after Sue McGown. The campus opened in August in Bridgeland.
12. Design plans for Cy-Fair ISD’s Elementary School No. 59 in the Miramesa community were presented to the public in September.
13. The Harris County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to increase the property tax exemption for individuals with disabilities or those over age 65 from $229,000 of the appraised property value to $250,000 during a June 14 meeting.
14. With 90 of 100 possible points, Cy-Fair ISD received an A for the 2021-22 school year in the Texas Education Agency’s annual accountability ratings for school districts statewide.
15. As 66% of Texas teachers considered leaving their jobs in 2021, local school districts including Cy-Fair ISD worked to address high vacancy rates through recruitment and retention.
16. In February, the Harris County Public Library rolled out a collaborative project with Google and T-Mobile to provide cardholders with internet access and laptops.
17. With 10 Republicans running in the primary election for the U.S. House of Representatives District 38 seat this year, Community Impact asked each candidate about their top priorities. Wesley Hunt went on to win the Republican primary in March and the general election in November.
18. Amid drought conditions this summer, Harris County commissioners unanimously approved a countywide burn ban in unincorporated Harris County a week ahead of the July 4 holiday.
19. In early 2022, Harris County commissioners appointed Christina Petersen as the Harris County Flood Control District’s executive director and Milton Rahman as the county engineer.
20. The Cy-Fair ISD board this August unanimously approved policy changes designed to provide transparency to parents about library books and ensure students access books that are appropriate for their grade level.
21. Harris County misdemeanor bail reform was a hot topic this election season with 15 of the 16 Harris County Criminal Courts at Law on the ballot.
22. Cy-Fair ISD officials presented an attendance boundary change proposal Nov. 14 that could impact as many as 44 campuses. The adjustments would populate new campuses opening soon and provide enrollment relief to overcrowded campuses by better utilizing nearby campuses operating under capacity.
