Last spring, 116 students from the Hays CISD were recognized with the Linebarger Academic Award, which, in addition to the prestige for scholastic achievement it signals, came with a $100 gift card.
This year there will be only 53 to achieve that recognition, and whether there’s a cash award is anyone’s guess.
That’s because the Hays CISD Education Foundation, which bestows the awards, changed the eligibility this year from the top 10 percent of the graduating classes of Hays and Lehman high schools to the top 25 students, based on their grade point average.
The news didn’t sit well with all students, one of whom reached out to the Hays Free Press to express her displeasure. “It’s the middle of the school year,” the student said. “We are three and a half months away from graduation.”
“We understand your disappointment with the change concerning the Linebarger Academic Recognition Reception,” Marisa Coon, president of the Hays CISD Education Foundation, said in a statement sent to the Hays Free Press. She cited the district’s “ever-increasing growth,” along with “calendar change, final ranking date and limited funds” in the decision, which was made after the school district’s winter break.
Coon went on to say that the foundation feels, with Johnson High School now open, (though not yet with a graduating class), now “is the best time for a change.”
Tim Savoy, spokesman for the Hays CISD, also said he understands students who could be in the top 10 percent but not the top 25 might be disappointed. “The hard part about the decision is, it’s a disappointment no matter when you did it. I think it would have been the same if no matter when you did it. I think it would have been the same if it had been made in the summer. I know the top 10 percent have been working very hard for those grades.”
Savoy noted that each campus will continue to honor the top 10 percent of its graduating class. “They are all provided medals to wear at graduation and their names are highlighted in the programs,” he said. “Additionally, they stand and are honored at graduation, and they are the first to walk across the stage.”
The 53 to be honored at this year’s ceremony on May 15 represent 25 from both Hays and Lehman and three from Live Oak Academy.
Angie Mendez, liaison to the all-volunteer Foundation, said cash awards are dependent on donations and the status of such awards this year is unclear because one of the primary fundraisers, a golf tournament, is yet to occur. The decision to change eligibility for the Linebarger Award “was a hard one, I’m not going to lie,” she said.
Savoy said it was also a question of sustainability, particularly when seniors begin graduating from Johnson High School. “It’s not only where it is now but looking into the future. At some point the Foundation came to realize they had to make the change. I don’t think there’s ever an easy time to do it.”
The student who approached the Hays Free Press, however, questioned why Johnson would impact this year’s awards. “It’s just not fair to those who have worked their butts off and wanted to get this award for so long and being told never mind … All my entire high school career I’ve been pushing myself to get this award.”
