Recipients can use their scholarship for tuition at the college, university, technical or trade school of their choice. Students were selected from more than 460 applicants with scholarship awards, ranging from $2,000 to $7,500.

“We are committed to providing opportunities and education that help our communities thrive,” said community outreach specialist Mikayla Herron. “PEC is proud to award these scholarships and play a role in shaping these students’ futures to help them reach their goals and dreams.”

This year, scholarship recipients and their families were honored at a reception, April 20, at EVO Entertainment Belterra in Austin.

“I’m beyond grateful and so moved by the generosity of this scholarship,” said recipient Ava Schlotterbeck, a senior at Moe and Gene Johnson High School. “PEC will forever be part of my college journey and I just cannot say thank you enough.”

This year’s recipients are listed below — those marked with an asterisk indicated a trade school scholarship.

•   Anna Carpenter, Westwood High School

•   Elizabeth Chaison, Leander High School

•   Kaitlin Cheng, McNeil High School

•   Anna Edwards, Cedar Park High School

•   Caleb Eilers, Veritas Academy*

•   Preslee Faris, Blanco High School*

•   Stephanie Gearing, Vista Ridge High School

•   Andrew Houy, Faith Academy of Marble Falls*

•   Ally Hunsicker, Dripping Springs High School

•   Mahi Jain, Rouse High School

•   Peyton Johnson, Dripping Springs High School

•   DeAnna Jorde, Liberty Hill High School

•   Samuel “Miles” Kanetzky, Florence High School

•   Gage Keeton, Marble Falls High School*

•   Ava Maldonado, San Marcos High School

•   Joshua Marks, Wimberley High School

•   Abigail McCord, Vista Ridge High School

•   Ava Schlotterbeck, Moe and Gene Johnson High School

•   Grant Simon, Junction High School

•   Saisha Siram, Westwood High School

•   Josephine Sun, Westwood High School

•   Jessica Wadle, Canyon Lake High School

•   Timothy Walbeck, Canyon Lake High School

•   Tricia Carson-Walker, Georgetown High School

•   Corbin Willis, Wimberley High School

The scholarships are made possible through unclaimed funds returned from the state, stated a PEC news release. PEC is committed to supporting its members and investing in the future of young students by providing education and youth programs that benefit students across its service area. Since 1999, PEC has awarded more than $1.7 million in scholarships to more than 900 students, serving members and students in 23 school districts and approximately 34 public high schools.

In addition to providing scholarships, PEC offers a variety of free youth education programs, including school visits and career exploration, PEC’s Youth Tour to learn about government in action and online learning materials to help students access career information and learn how to build resumes.

Students can find additional details online at www.myPEC.com/scholarships.

Currently, the middle schools follow the high school in using a block schedule with 90-minute periods, where the students attend four longer classes on “A days” and then, the remaining four classes on “B days.”

However, now, beginning in the 2026-27 school year, those students will be transitioning to a hybrid schedule. They will have three days of a traditional 48-minute class schedule, seeing all of their teachers for eight periods three days a week and then, on the other days, they will revert back to the block schedule for four periods per day with advisory.

The students will be on a traditional schedule Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, while on the block schedule Wednesdays and Thursdays.

It wasn’t just one variable that led DSISD to make this decision, said Dr. Karen Kidd, assistant superintendent for Learning & Innovation, as they have been looking at and reviewing schedules for middle school students since 2022.

She explained that when looking at similar school districts, DSISD was the only one of the 40 comparison groups that was doing the block scheduling, while other campuses were either doing a hybrid or traditional.

“What we did is we looked at all the evidence over the course of years and we kind of just did a blend from the teaching perspective and how students at that age learn,” Kidd said. “We need a little bit faster pace in the classroom sometimes, but then, there's also times where they need time to dig in deep. So, we really married the two together and decided that the hybrid was the best for us.”

Some schools have seven-period days, while others have eight-period days, but DSISD wanted to ensure that there was the least impact for student opportunities as possible, Kidd emphasized. This includes maintaining the number of electives that are offered, athletic and sixth grade band scheduling stays the same and a reduction in what students miss when they are absent or leave early.

“We have four electives that our students can choose from. Other schools might drop that down if they're only doing a seven period class. They might only have three choices for students or maybe even two choices,” she said. “We opted to not let the student feel the impact of the schedule change — taking away choices — and we left the choices the same, so we're still having the eight-period day with still the four electives and four core.”

From the teacher’s perspective, there is also the benefit of being able to support their students more throughout the week, especially in subject areas, like math and reading, that require frequent practice, Kidd continued. The new hybrid schedule also takes away any confusion that was brought on by the current, fluctuating block schedule.

Parents were notified of the change in April with a chance to attend an informational meeting May 7.

The new schedule format will go into effect for the 2026-27 school year. More information can be found at www.dsisdtx.us/page/ms-hybrid-schedule.

The investigation first began in April after the district received reports of a "potentially serious pattern of bullying" involving varsity and junior varsity players. The Hays County Sheriff's Office is acting in partnership, after the discovery that some of the alleged activity may warrant warrant criminal activity. 

As a result, Hays CISD suspended 10 students and, at the time, head coach Jacob Kaase. Although the investigation is ongoing, the district sent an email to parents that noted that, "the superintendent has determined that Lehman High School will benefit from a change in leadership within the baseball program."

Coach Kaase remains on paid administrative leave, while the school district’s separate, administrative investigation into the matter continues. If Kasse is cleared in the investigation, he will be reassigned to another position in the district, said the district. 

The job opening will go online later this week.

 "Student safety is paramount and we continue to extend our appreciation for your trust and confidence as we navigate this process," concluded the district. 

Back in the early 2000s, one of the school’s founding faculty members, Debra Flynn, crafted the idea of having totems — or pillars — of LHS, which are integrity, wisdom and pride. Since the first graduating class, a boy and girl student were selected to represent the totems for each school year.

The awards have continued and blossomed into being more inclusive, regardless of gender, honoring the students who best fit the school’s motto, said Jennifer Guinn, LHS Advanced Placement English teacher, who helped take over the program in 2019 when Flynn retired.

“We were seeing our first graduating class back in [2007] and [we] just wanted to make sure that we started traditions that honored our students,” she said.

The students are nominated for the awards by LHS teachers and staff. Then, the students submit essays on how they exhibit one or more of the totems for judging. The panel this year consisted of Hays CISD board trustee Raul Vela, LHS principal James Cruz, former ROTC Commander John Berry and several other teachers on campus, Guinn explained.

“It's March that we typically send an email out to the staff and to nominate students that might fit one of those categories. I think March 28 was the deadline this year for them to be nominated and the kids have about two weeks, maybe three, to actually write an essay on why they are worthy of that particular nomination,” said Orlando De La Fuente, AP environmental science teacher, who also helps organize the program. “Then, we filter that to the panel. The panel goes through the essays and then, we meet as a group to kind of hash things out and the winners are chosen.”

The awards are important because they can reflect on their time in high school and how they have evolved from freshman to seniors, Guinn shared.

Senior Kyia Miller, for example, reflected on her time in athletic competitions: "Going to powerlifting competitions and hearing the whispers about ‘Lehman is here’ in a respectful tone is always nice. Usually, when sports go against Lehman, they assume they’re going to have an easy win, but with powerlifting, it’s different,” read an excerpt from her essay. “I take pride in hearing the positive recognition about Lehman rather than the negative. I will always be proud to be one of the captains of the powerlifting team because of the hard work they put into the sport, and the positive outcomes that come with it. These positive outcomes shift people’s views of Lehman, showing that we can achieve excellence.”

A couple of other seniors — Frank Ramirez and Sheyla Muro — also shared excerpts from their essays, noting what they have learned throughout high school and how they exhibit the tenets of the school’s motto.

"Those on the outside of my school or even some of those within who do not truly understand it may not see what there is to be proud of here, but those who have come to understand this school as I have, see — not a perfect school — but a community that is undoubtedly worth appreciating,” Ramirez wrote.

"Pride, for me, started at home. It was shaped by my parents, who came to this country as Mexican immigrants and built a life for our family through hard work and sacrifice,” Muro wrote. “Watching them, growing up, taught me that pride is not about recognition; it is about resilience, responsibility and representing your roots with integrity.”

The following student recipients were recognized Wednesday, May 13, at the senior awards ceremony.

Integrity:

Maribel Camacho Duran

Joshua Power

Wisdom:

Stella Becirovic

Gabriela Correa

Pride:

Mylei Donahue

Kyia Miller

According to Guinn and De La Fuente, the students' names will be displayed in the halls of the school to inspire future generations. They will also receive a glass acrylic star award.

The second comprehensive high school will open its doors in the fall of 2028 to serve 2,500 students in ninth through 12th grades in the eastern portion of the district, located off Darden Hill Road east of Cypress Springs Elementary School.

Since March, the district’s High School #2 Naming & Branding Committee — made up of 64 members, including staff and secondary students — has been tasked with making recommendations to the board on various components of the school’s branding. The first decision was determining the school's name, which was on Monday’s night agenda.

The committee did have to follow some guidelines when selecting recommendations, explained executive director of communications Jennifer Edwards. These included:

•   District facilities may be named for local residential areas, local geographic features or local, state or national landmarks.

•   District facilities shall not be named for persons, living or deceased.

•   The committee shall recommend three names to the board for each facility — however, that number expanded over time.

Name recommendations that the committee provided to the board were Driftwood High School, Driftwood Springs High School, Bear Creek High School, Sycamore Springs High School and Cypress Springs High School — the first two were the top contenders.

A survey, which was open from mid-February to early March, was also brought along the committee’s responsibilities to garner feedback from those who would have the most impact from the decision: the community.

Those voices and ideas were also heard during public comments, of which, the importance of identity was highly emphasized.

Parent Sarah Matz shared her strong support for naming the campus Driftwood High School, noting that it’s important that there should be an opportunity for those students to have their own identity separate from Dripping Springs High School, while still being able to have shared values, traditions and commitment to excellence.

“Our kids will still grow up together, will compete together, perform together and graduate together as part of Dripping Springs ISD. I think one community, two traditions, shared values,” she said. “I hope that we can fully embrace this opportunity to build a second great high school that honors both individuality and unity for generations to come.”

Another parent, Shellie Deringer, who also sits on the committee, requested that the board honor the deep history of the district and communities within its boundaries by choosing Driftwood High School. She explained that there have been conversations about DSISD’s 150-year anniversary, however, the board should look “beyond the recent elementary school naming pattern” — alluding to all of the campuses having “springs” in the name — and recognize actual historic communities that built the district.

“Driftwood School was established behind the Methodist Church in 1905. Mount Gainer School opened in 1906. Hamilton's Pool School dates back to 1886. Henley and Pedernales Falls also had early schools serving local communities in the 1880s. Those names represent real places, real history and real communities that helped form this district long before the recent growth era,” Deringer emphasized. “Students have repeatedly said that they want their high school to have a true identity tied to a recognizable place. A high school name follows students to competitions, college applications, resumes and alumni connections for the rest of their lives. A high school deserves more weight and consideration than simply extending a naming pattern created less than 20 years ago for elementary schools during rapid expansion.”

Others, like parent Kat Williams, shared that keeping the tradition of having “springs” in the campus names should continue, noting her support for Emerald Springs and Cypress Springs.

“Traditions give a sense of identity and cohesion. Traditions provide comfort, familiarity and continuity, emotional anchors. Traditions show what we hold dear and our value reinforcers. Traditions are a celebration of our heritage, allowing us to celebrate our roots and unify with those in our town,” Williams said. “Please do not take these traditions from our children and from our community. Please uphold our traditions and save our springs.”

During the board’s discussion, trustee Shanda DeLeon explained that it’s not in policy that the schools must have “springs” in the name, however, every DSISD Board of Trustees has done so. She added that there have been some conversations surrounding Driftwood Springs not existing as a spring, but that could possibly later be brought forward to the Texas Water Development Board, since there are hundreds of unnamed springs in the Texas Hill Country.

Trustee Kim Cousins said that she loves living in a community where people feel like these decisions matter, as there are other districts where a second high school is being built, but nobody shows up to the meetings or provides input: “You stood here tonight behind the microphone and taking time out of your busy, busy evenings at home, where you could be spending time with your families and this shows to me that this is important.”

She continued that she was torn between the top contenders — Driftwood Springs High School and Driftwood High School — but what she has really looked at is the input from the students, who are going to attend the school, build pride and start traditions.

“I never really kind of imagined this town with a high school or a building or any elementary, middle or high school without springs attached to it, but at one point, I have to listen to what the majority of the people are saying and that's what I'm listening to. I value your time, I value your care,” Cousins said. “I love that you care about where you live and how things are named and how they're going to proceed. I'm following my heart. I'm following the work of the committee. I'm following how I feel. I'm following how I have heard what people have said and to me, it's just been crystal clear and loud what they want and I just want that on the record.”

Later in the meeting, trustee Rob McClelland emphasized his support for Driftwood Springs High School because it “strikes the right balance” by honoring the history and heritage of a broader community that helped build the district over 150 years, but it also gives students the opportunity to create their own traditions.

Ultimately, the campus will be known as Driftwood Springs High School, following a 6-1 vote by the board of trustees. Cousins was the dissenting vote.

The board will continue its discussions on the mascot, colors and overall branding in June.

To listen to the full meeting, visit www.dsisdtx.us/page/board-meeting-livestream.

More information on the bond projects can be found at www.wimberleyisd.net/bond2025.

Gonzalez brings more than 20 years of experience in Texas public schools, having served as a teacher, athletic coordinator, assistant principal and principal, including a decade in campus administration.

Most recently, he served as principal of Marble Falls Middle School, where he led the development and implementation of efficient campus systems to strengthen instructional effectiveness and campus culture, support positive student behavior and outcomes and improve daily operations, stated a DSISD news release. Gonzalez also drove academic growth through the implementation of Tier I initiatives and designed and implemented a schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports framework.

Prior to his role in Marble Falls ISD, Gonzalez served as an assistant principal in New Braunfels ISD and Seguin ISD. He began his career in Hays CISD as a teacher and coach, later serving as an athletic coordinator and assistant principal.

“We are excited to welcome Mr. Gonzalez to DSISD,” said DSISD Superintendent Dr. Holly Morris-Kuentz. “Selecting the right leader for Dripping Springs Middle School was our highest priority and Mr. Gonzalez embodies what great middle school leadership looks like. He brings a deep commitment to students and staff, paired with operational and community-building skills. We are confident he will build on the strong foundation and heritage already established at DSMS and take it to new heights.”

He holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science from Texas State University and a master’s degree in educational administration from Lamar University.

Gonzalez will begin his new role in June.

Senate Bill 546 was passed during the 89th Texas Legislature as a way to strengthen safety standards for student transportation, amending the Texas Transportation Code to add a subsection that establishes a mandate for three-point seat belts on school buses.

The bill requires that every school bus operated or contracted by a school district must be equipped with three-point seat belts for every passenger and the driver.

Prior to now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) started addressing safety on school buses. While it did not mandate or recommend seat belts at the time, the NHTSA looked at rollover protection, body joining strength, seating — making it softer with higher backs — and compartmentalizing, which was found to be effective for a long time for front- or rear-end collisions, explained DSISD chief operations officer Scott Berry.

Some states began to require lap belts on buses and then, in the 1990s and 2000s, there was a lot of research conducted for manufacturers to test three-point seat belts. Senate Bill 693 was passed in Texas in 2017, requiring any bus that was a 2018 model or later to have a three-point seat belt — with some exemptions.

“They did allow some ways to get out of that and one of the ones that a lot of districts use was to bypass that based on the budget,” Berry said. “In other words, it was just too expensive to do it. Our district chose not to do that, which is great. They prioritized safety on that.”

There was also not a mandate to retrofit any of the buses that were 2018 or older.

This has now led to the last legislative session, which passed SB 546 and became effective Sept. 1, 2025, with an expected full compliance by Sept. 1, 2029. While there were some exemptions for school districts in the 2017 legislation, almost all of them have been removed for SB 546, Berry presented.

“I think the only one left is that if it voids the warranty of the bus, you don’t have to do that, but that’s very rare,” he said.

As a component of the bill, there is a reporting requirement due May 29 — which DSISD has already submitted — that tracks compliance and any financial challenges, as well as needing to present to the school board.

Looking at DSISD’s fleet inventory of 91 buses, which includes buses from 2012 through new ones in 2027, all of them are equipped with three-point seatbelts, according to Berry.

“This was really good foresight to put this in our bond. It allowed us to be able to pay for that … As far as the retrofit goes, there were 37 total buses that were retrofitted. We're complete with that project now and it cost [$1,238,886.56]; I believe it came out to a little over $30,000 per school bus to do that,” he said. “And then, as we replaced buses, and even as we've grown both replacement and our growth buses, we were purchasing three-point seat belts.”

Berry continued that between the 2023 and 2025 bonds, the district purchased 15 new school buses for a grand total of $4,405,885.56. The cost of a bus with three-point seat belts versus not is approximately $7,000 to $10,000 per bus.

“This is just the wow factor to me, that we are so ahead of the deadline. [We] didn't have to do it immediately, [but] safety was a top priority. I just hear great things about the transportation department,” shared trustee Kim Cousins. “We've got another couple of years left to go and y'all are just doing an amazing job and this just didn't happen overnight. I know it took a lot of work and I just want to personally thank you for that; we couldn't function the way we do without everything y'all do.”

The DSISD Board of Trustees meets next for its agenda review meeting at 2 p.m. Monday, May 11.

Bloys joined Cypress Springs Elementary School in fall 2021 and is in her third year as a structured learning classroom (SLC) teacher. McCauley is in his sixth year at Dripping Springs High School, where he teaches engineering and coaches the BEST Robotics program.

In March, Bloys and McCauley were among nine educators named DSISD Campus Teachers of the Year. Other campus winners were:

Maria Mur, Dripping Springs Elementary School

Chelsea Cox, Rooster Springs Elementary School

Meredith Gomez, Sycamore Springs Elementary School

Skyelar Hale, Walnut Springs Elementary School

Leighanne Schlicke, Wildwood Springs Elementary School

Amanda Mays, Dripping Springs Middle School

Heidi Michal, Sycamore Springs Middle School

Selected by a committee of district educators and staff, Bloys and McCauley will now represent DSISD in the Region 13 Teacher of the Year selection process this summer.

The camp — Hays Robotics Camp — was created by Chris Glynn, who has been teaching engineering and robotics at Barton Middle School for 11 years, and Grant Dohmen, a 13-year-old student with a passion for business and creating, along with five years of engineering experience. They both knew that they wanted to share their love for the field and teach these skills in an engaging environment.

“[Dohmen’s] on the robotics team that we have here on campus and so, we have an after school program. We started talking about it and Grant brought the idea to me: ‘Hey, I would like to offer a camp for young kids. We can get them interested in robotics,’” Glynn said, adding that it’s a partnership between the two, as Dohmen has worked to do all of the marketing, developed the curriculum, brought in the equipment and more.

Campers can expect to build base frame, 10-inch by 12-inch robots, adding sensors, structures and motors to go through a series of tasks. There will be a building component, but Glynn shared that they will also introduce the students into the “coding world,” where they can create the instruction for the robot to complete the tasks.

The leaders are looking forward to being able to offer the camp that will benefit the students who may not be interested in participating in other extracurricular activities, like sports, as well as showing them that there are alternative future career options.

“I want kids to realize these are jobs that can actually benefit them in the future with the skills that we're giving these kids. As the world becomes more automized, the robotics thing is spreading out more and more. I just want to get kids interested and I want to get them motivated into these jobs that are going to be available to them when they get older,” Glynn said. “I hope we're hitting the mark for some of these kids because not everybody can be a football player or basketball. It's something that we're offering and hopefully they can engage in over the summer. We can teach them a little bit of logic, they might get involved with some coding down the road and just kind of show them what's out there.”

“We'd love for them to fall in love with robotics, but really, we just want to introduce this to as many people as possible, so people interested can learn about this not necessarily new, innovative field,” Dohmen said.

Beyond the teaching component, having an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age, Dohmen shared that he is also excited to be learning to operate “something more than a lemonade stand” that he can put on his college applications and prepare him for the future.

“I wanted to sort of put my skills to the test and help the community. I'm just excited to be doing this because I want to get better at all the marketing skills and all that type of stuff,” the student said.

There are three sessions available for the summer camp, with all being for a half-day. For the first week, June 1-5, there will be morning and afternoon groups available from 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-3:30 p.m. However, currently, for the second week, from June 29-July 3, there will only be morning sessions, with the possibility of adding an afternoon group if there are increased enrollment numbers.

Nineteen students have fully registered, as of Monday, May 4, with a total of 42 students that can be accommodated — any incoming fifth and sixth grade student within Hays CISD is welcome to register.

The cost for the camp is $150 per session, with proceeds going to funding the robotics program and clubs at Barton Middle School.

For more information about the camp, visit www.sites.google.com/view/kyleroboticscamp/home.

Candidates were able to file for the election from Jan. 14 to Feb. 13, with early voting occurring April 20-28.

According to unofficial results, Armstrong won the Single Member District 2 seat with 189 votes, or 63.64%, while Jose Luis Perez garnered 108 votes, or 36.36%.

Armstrong noted that her election to the board is a continuation of her involvement in the community, as she has previously served on the district’s Facilities and Bonds Oversight Committee and ran an in-home preschool.

She advocates for restoring stipends for teachers, following Hays CISD’s $12 million in budget cuts, and an incremental approach for tax increases to allow the transition to be more palatable to voters.

"I don't take this position lightly and will do my best to uphold my campaign priorities: fair equity, responsible stewardship and the well-being of all students. Hays CISD makes it 100% possible," Armstrong said.

The Trustee At-Large position, previously held by Vanessa Petrea, will be filled by Zavala, who received 706 votes, or 54.48%. Opponent Ashlee Thurston had 590 votes, or 45.52%.

He emphasized his deep roots in the district, having graduated from Hays High School, and involvement in Parent Teacher Associations, the School Health Advisory and Facilities and Bonds Oversight committees.

Although Zavala supports trying for a tax increase, due to limited legislature funding, he emphasized pushing public education and outreach, as many community members are unaware of ongoing situations within the district. He also hopes to maintain Career and Technical Education programs, since his own children have participated in the cosmetology and nursing programs.

"I’m deeply honored to have been elected as your Hays CISD Trustee At-Large," said Zavala. " For me, this was never just about an election. It was about service, our students, our families, our educators and the future of this district ... The campaign is over. The work begins."

Vela, who has served since 2020, was unopposed for the Single Member District 1 seat and received 130 votes at 100%.

All results remain unofficial until canvassed. To learn more about the election, visit www.hayscisd.net/o/hcisd/page/election2026 or bit.ly/4tR2N0g to view voting results.

Superintendent Dr. Holly Morris-Kuentz began the program by sharing the progress of The DSISD Strategic Plan: Future Ready 2030.

“Two years ago, we entered into strategic planning, which was a yearlong endeavor for us,” she said. “The focus of that really was to bring our community in and make sure that as we were moving forward as a district, we were moving forward with our community and really thinking about what did our community need from their school system.”

The goals, the superintendent explained, centered around academics, counseling and resources, human resources — taking care of staff — connecting with the community and improving communications, which the district has focused on for the last two years.

In the first year — the 2024-25 school year — there was an emphasis on curriculum. This effort worked to ensure consistent alignment of course offerings across all campuses and establish a clearly defined curriculum for all courses.

Academic goals for year two include providing students with authentic opportunities to solve problems and develop academic, technical and interpersonal skills.

Another area of focus in year one was a comprehensive counseling and advising framework. This allowed the district to focus on interventions for students in year two, said Morris-Kuentz.

The final accomplishment in year one was establishing a comprehensive hiring framework to recruit and onboard quality staff. Now, in year two, the focus has been professional development.

“Our education foundation actually sponsored our mentor program and so, we've built a very robust mentor program this year, which has allowed us to really take care of those early career teachers who are the first or second year in the classroom and helping make sure they have a really strong foundation as teachers and then, stay in our school system,” Morris-Kuentz concluded.

Dr. Karen Kidd, assistant superintendent for learning and innovation, began her portion of the presentation by highlighting standout academic achievements in the district, including that it outperforms the region and the state in both the STAAR testing and Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) achievement and growth.

Additionally, students outperform the state and national average of SAT and ACT testing regularly. For example, in 2025, the National SAT Average was 1029 and the Texas SAT Average was 971. DSISD’s average was 1125. In the same year, both the National and Texas ACT averages were 19.4, while DSISD’s average was 24.4.

Furthermore, Kidd discussed the programming available in DSISD schools, which includes 21 areas of study for Career and Technical Education. As of April 22, 230 students earned industry-based certifications this school year.

“That means our high school graduates can go right into industry and start earning money when they're going to college or working on their career or in the military.,” she explained.

Next up was Chief Operations Officer (COO) Scott Berry, who discussed operations and construction for the district.

To start, he gave an overview of the district’s financial scope, including:

• Annual budget: $100.2 million

• 2023 Bond Program: $223.7 million. There is approximately $50 million left to issue from this program.

• 2025 Bond Program: $406.7 million. Approximately half of these funds have been issued to date.

Additionally, Berry highlighted interesting facts about the district, which include 1.8 million square feet — equivalent to the U.S. Capitol, the Taj Mahal and the Alamodome combined — of buildings maintained, 6,000-plus meals served daily, 1,000-plus technical support requests per month and 5,000 miles — equivalent to the distance between Dripping Springs and London — driven by transportation each day.

The COO then shared the status of various construction projects, starting with High School No. 2, for which construction began Nov. 17, 2025, with a total budget of $298.8 million. According to Berry, construction is on track and the Naming and Branding Committee is underway, but the name, colors, mascot and opening plans have not been decided.

Another major project for the district is renovations at Dripping Springs High School. With a total project budget of $51.1 million, construction will begin in the summer with replacement of the HVAC system. Additional renovations include updated flooring, walls, lighting and some plumbing.

Rounding out the construction discussion was the renovations at Rooster Springs Elementary School, which will also begin this summer. This $25.8 million project will include updates to the library, along with HVAC updates and new lighting, floors and finishes.

Following Berry’s update, Morris-Kuentz took the microphone again to discuss the most recent demographic updates for DSISD, with data collected and analyzed by PASA.

“So, PASA, who's our demographer, what they do is they collect background data. They're going and talking with developers about what they're anticipating in the next 10 years for their developments. They talk with the city, they talk with water districts, they're taking and geocoding where kids live versus where they go to school in our district, which helps us understand that,” the Morris-Kuentz said. “They're also looking at things like voucher programs, where kids are going outside of our district; if they live in Dripping Springs ISD, but don't go to school here. They're analyzing housing and economic trends and then, they give that back to us in terms of enrollment projections for the district and then, that helps us with long range planning.”

One of the things determined by the recent study was where the district is in the demographic lifecycle, which is broken down into four segments: emerging growth, high growth, approaching stabilization and stabilization. While some parts of the district are approaching stabilization, Morris-Kuentz explained that, overall, it is still considered to be in high growth.

As far as enrollment trends, PASA compared DSISD to other area schools between 2019 and 2024. In that time, the district added 1,502 students, ranking seventh in growth amongst area districts. Additionally, enrollment grew by 21%, which leaves the district at eighth highest percentage growth.

“One of the things that tells us that we're going to continue to be a fast growth district is our kindergarten enrollment,” said Morris-Kuentz, as she showed a graph with the birth rate and kindergarteners being enrolled in schools. “So, our kindergartners outpace our birth rate, which tells us that we still have young families moving into our community and being a part of our schools.”

This is different from other parts of the state, she explained, where the birth rate is higher than kindergarteners, which shows that young families are moving out of areas when their kids reach school age to go to suburbs, such as DSISD.

When looking at students per home, the superintendent showed that the rate for students per single family home has not changed much in the past 10 years, as it varies between 0.51 and 0.57 in any given school year.

What has changed is the amount of students per home in multi-family housing.

“So, right now, we have a lot of apartments moving in and often what I hear from people is, ‘Oh, you've got apartments. That's going to mean really big growth for the district.’” Morris-Kuentz said. “It doesn't for us anymore. Part of that is these newer apartments have high rental rates and they also have high payments. And so, that's a lot of young professionals moving into apartments, but it's not a lot of young families.”

She continued, stating that elementary enrollment is a clear indicator that most of the growth for the district is coming from master-planned communities, such as Highpointe, with 0.82 students per home, Belterra, with 0.74 students per home, and Headwaters, with 0.54 students per home.

Another area looked at by PASA was the impact of alternative education opportunities on DSISD. What the study found is that approximately 300 students who reside in the Dripping Springs area go to a private school or charter school: “But it's not a really big impact in terms of changes to our district enrollment,” the superintendent clarified.

Looking ahead, single-family developments are poised to have the biggest impact on enrollment, with 78% of new housing projections in the next decade being single family.

The five largest developments include:

• Village Grove: Additional 511 units

• Caliterra: Additional 419 units, for a total of 969 units

• Wild Ridge: Additional 863 units

• Double L Ranch: Additional 1,600 units, for a total of 2,170 units

• Penn Ranch: Additional 946 units, for a total of 1,121 units

With these developments, plus others, the study estimates 13,644 additional housing occupancies in the next decade, with 10,722 coming from single-family housing.

“So, when our demographer summarized our study, what they really told us is we have a strong market. Our area has a highly educated family base, so typically, 60% of our residents have a bachelor's degree. Our home prices are a little bit high. They are about 40% over the state average,” Morris-Kuentz summarized. “Our near-term growth, or what's projected in the next five years, is very solid when you look at what we're estimating for the new developments that are coming in, all of those are already started. So, those aren't going to change. Looking out 10 years and beyond, that's where things could change. And all of that really is based upon this utility capacity; it depends upon water and wastewater. So, if those communities who are planning don't get access, then that could continue to change for us.”

Finally, the superintendent shared the enrollment forecast for the next 10 years. Currently, enrollment is at 8,808 students. The projections show the growth in three scenarios:

• Reduced scenario: 10, 459 students

• Accelerated scenario: 14,976 students

• 10-year forecast: 12,942

“That's a slight change from the last time we had this update. They were estimating us to be closer to 13,000 to 18,000 and so, that has been adjusted down a little bit,” she explained. “Like I said, that growth is slowing a little bit, which is not a bad thing for us. It's just a change that I think it's worth noting.”

For more information on DSISD bonds, growth and demographics, visit www.dsisdtx.us/o/bp.

Prior to the vote, Christina Courson, chief Human Resources officer, discussed the changes at the April 20 meeting, where she stated that it “reflects the changes that have been made in the budget reductions that were announced at the end of March. So, for example, the deputy academic officer position would be removed, the campus support specialist would be removed. All the different positions that were identified for reduction will be removed.”

There will also be changes in the work calendar, such as that for the attendance clerks, and suspension in degree stipends and incentive stipends for bilingual and special education positions.

The district will need to provide a “zero year” uncertified teacher salary, per state requirement, which must be lower than the “zero year” certified pay.

Courson stated that for years, librarians have existed on the nurse and teacher scale, but that the Texas Association of School Boards has stated that they should be instead listed as academic professional scale, though they will not be losing any money.

“This allows them to keep their $2000 [degree stipend] rolled into their salary,” said Courson.

Trustee Esperanza Orosco asked about the pay and stipend for new media specialist librarians. The reason for this new “lead stipend” is because the new budget eliminated head librarians at each school, instead replacing them with one general librarian at the middle and high school levels, who will partner with the onsite library technicians.

These positions will open for internal applications within the next week to allow the impacted librarians a chance to be selected for the position.

“Everybody will have a job next year. Of the seven impacted librarians, two would be selected. There is a current vacancy at Negley Elementary [School] for a librarian. So, one of the librarians may want to be a librarian at the elementary level and I have heard that there may be two other vacancies at the elementary level. If that’s the case, then that would bring it to five [librarians with jobs]. With two remaining, one has resigned — that would be the sixth one — and the seventh one was able to be selected for a different job at their current campus,” explained Courson. “So, each one of them is being taken care of, as far as a job for next year.”

There were also 22 public education information management system clerks that were impacted, five of which are still looking for jobs.

The chief HR officer also noted that there will not be a cost of living adjustment for any staff member for the upcoming fiscal year, though teachers that received a teacher retention allotment can keep it.

“I can say on behalf of this board that this is not the comp[senation] plan that we really wanted to pursue for next year, in light of what our funding challenges are, but I appreciate the thoughtfulness you’re putting into it to bring this item forward now, so that we can have some clarity,” said trustee Byron Severance.

The item was approved 7-0.

Additionally, the trustees approved two separate items to terminate eight probationary teacher contracts and a good cause teacher termination.

The agenda documents state that “probationary teacher contracts are issued for one-year terms and may be renewed for as many as three additional one-year periods” and notes that these terminations will “serve the best interests of the district, namely to eliminate the costs associated with the identified positions.”

The teachers that were identified in this process were advised to submit a resignation, though because none did, the board was required to terminate, resulting in a 7-0 vote.

The good cause teacher termination affected one individual, according to Courson. Documents state that the reason for the agenda item was to “exercise the authority provided in law and policy to terminate the employment of a term contract teacher currently serving a multiple year contract, expiring on June, 1, 2027.” The item passed unanimously.

The Hays CISD Board of Trustees will next meet at 5 p.m. Monday, May 11.

Valentine has worked with the students, families and community in WISD since 2002. During his 24-year tenure with WISD, he has served the district across several key campus and district leadership positions, including the following: principal for Danforth Junior High School from 2008-2014; principal for Wimberley High School from 2014-2022; and the district’s assistant superintendent since 2022.

“It is hard to imagine WISD without Jason Valentine,” said Dr. Greg Bonewald, WISD’s superintendent. “He has positively impacted thousands across our Texan Family in his time here in Wimberley. We will undoubtedly miss the authentic spirit of servant leadership that he brings to our school community every day. At the same time, I am thrilled for him and his family and know that he will thrive in his next chapter as a leader in Texas public education.”

“Serving the students, teachers, parents and community in Wimberley ISD has been the honor of a lifetime,” said Valentine. “My family has grown in this community and Wimberley will always hold a very special place in the hearts of all the Valentines. My heart is full of gratitude and Texan Pride.”

In Texas, there is a mandatory 21-day waiting period following the naming of a district’s superintendent lone finalist. Valentine will continue to serve in his current role with WISD until the transition to his new role with Palacios ISD.

A two-time defending state champion, Gillum placed first out of 29 competitors in the Junior Division Individual Website category for her project, “The King’s Revolutions: Rethinking the Historical Significance of Elvis Presley in 1950s America.”

Gillum’s research included visits to archives at Graceland, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Briscoe Center for American History. She also traveled to Tupelo, Mississippi, to Elvis Presley’s childhood home and the church where he first performed. Her website explores how the rock-and-roll legend melded different musical genres, impacted race in the music industry and created a rebellious youth culture.

Gillum now advances to compete at the National History Day Contest June 14-18 at the University of Maryland, College Park. 

Rounding out the top 10 are Grant Gillum, Annie Reale, Allison Gorchs, Madeleine Sheppard, Evan Murphy, Kaleb Oliphant, Kyle Kreuz and Caroline Rhodes.

These students will be recognized at the DSISD Board of Trustees meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, April 27, the Senior Academic Awards Ceremony May 13 and the DSHS graduation ceremony May 22.

Below is a list of the top 10 seniors, along with the universities they plan to attend and their intended fields of study.

Class of 2026 Top 10 Seniors

Valedictorian: Sanvi Surapaneni (Texas A&M University, Biomedical Engineering, Pre-Med)

Salutatorian: Bella Rose (University of Texas at Austin, Neuroscience)

Third: Grant Gillum (Stanford University, History, Economics)

Fourth: Annie Reale (Undecided, Piano Performance)

Fifth: Allison Gorchs (University of Texas at Austin, Philosophy on Pre-Law track)

Sixth: Madeleine Sheppard (University of Texas at Austin, Psychology)

Seventh: Evan Murphy (University of Rochester, Music Performance)

Eighth: Kaleb Oliphant (Brigham Young University, Applied Computational Mathematics)

Ninth (Tied): Kyle Kreuz (University of Texas at Austin, Neuroscience)

Ninth (Tied): Caroline Rhodes (University of Texas at Austin, Nutrition with Pre-Med)

This spring, three board positions are up for election: Single-Member District 1, Single-Member District 2 and Trustee At-Large.

Raul Vela Jr., the current representative for District 1, is running for reelection unopposed and was not present.

Jose Luis Perez and Katy Armstrong are both up for the District 2 position, presently held by Johnny Flores, who is running for the Hays County Precinct 2 commissioner seat, rather than reelection. Perez was not in attendance on Tuesday, though Armstrong was. Ashlee Thurston and Alex Zavala, both of whom participated in the panel, are running for the at-large position currently held by Vanessa Petrea.

Former Hays CISD school board president Meredith Keller, who moderated the panel, mentioned that the vacating trustees are “moving on for different pastures.”

Carla Perez, the vice president of the HEA and elections chair, opened the forum by welcoming those in attendance and emphasizing the importance of the school board as a voice for the community and reflection of local desires.

“I just want to thank everyone for showing up and coming and making sure that they wanted to be part of the solutions for Hays CISD,” stated Perez.

Following Perez’s opening statement, Keller opened the floor for candidates to introduce themselves.

Armstrong spoke first, describing her candidacy as a continuation of her longstanding involvement in the community. With a master’s degree in education and background in both special education and English as a second language, Armstrong highlighted her work as a guest teacher.

She also noted her service on the district’s Facilities and Bonds Oversight Committee, her role running an in-home preschool and her experience on the Kyle Housing Authority, noting that the rules and ethics of a dais are not foreign to her.

“This is my heart; this is my home [and] this is my community,” Armstrong said. “Serving on the school board seems like a natural place to continue to give.”

Zavala spoke next, emphasizing his deep roots in the district. He graduated from Hays High School in 1992 and participated in the opening class of Dahlstrom Middle School. The at-large candidate cited years of involvement in Parent Teacher Associations, the School Health Advisory Committee and the district’s oversight committee as preparation for board service.

“I feel very rooted and committed to this district,” Zavala said, adding that he feels it's imperative to take on a bigger role in the district and that now is the time to do it.

Thurston described her experience as a substitute teacher and parent of two students in her opening statement. One of her children was in kindergarten when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, which she said reshaped her understanding of student needs, as did teaching.

Now that her children are older, Thurston has more time to give to a trustee position: “I’ve been watching as things are changing and seeing so much more need to rethink the process,” she said.

After introductions, the candidates spent the majority of the forum answering questions posed by the HEA and then, audience members. Many centered around budget cuts and how the candidates would prioritize funding to ensure student success.

The first question posed to candidates assessed whether they would support going out for a future voter-approval tax rate election (VATRE) and what they would do to ensure its passage. The last tax election on the ballot failed, resulting in $12 million in budget cuts across the district.

On the VATRE, Zavala said he supports trying again, but with a stronger emphasis on public education and outreach.

“I don’t feel the public gets the information,” he said, describing previous advocacy efforts as having “fallen on deaf ears.”

Thurston urged caution, suggesting the district should first demonstrate responsible budgeting before asking voters for additional funding.

“There would have to be a decent amount of time before another tax increase,” she said, adding that the district must clearly distinguish between needs and wants.

Armstrong proposed a more incremental approach, suggesting a smaller tax increase could be more palatable to voters. “We went big and it didn’t work out,” she said and brought forth the idea of a $0.03 rate increase, which would bring in the $12 million that was cut.

When asked about improving academic performance, all three candidates pointed to the limitations of standardized testing as a sole measure of success. Armstrong highlighted the district’s progress to a “B” accountability rating, despite funding challenges, while Thurston emphasized comprehension over memorization and the importance of data-driven improvement. Zavala called for building on existing strategies already in place.

All candidates expressed support for expanding Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, describing them as a key pathway for students. Zavala pointed to his own children’s participation in cosmetology and nursing programs as examples of their value.

The scale of budget cuts drew concern across the panel, especially those impacting teachers. Zavala encouraged voter participation to influence future funding decisions, honing in on his previous remarks about the importance of community involvement in the district.

Thurston said she was “not thrilled” with the scale of reductions or the volume of educators who were laid off: “What bothers me the most is how many teachers they’re going to be cutting. They’re the crux of the school district,” she stated.

Pointing to the lapse in financial support from the state, Armstrong advocated for restoring stipends for those with master’s degrees or advanced certifications, if more funding became available.

“We have a $32 billion surplus on the state level and if some of that could come our way that would be great,” she said.

While cognizant of budget constraints, the candidates expressed optimism toward the future of Hays CISD. Armstrong noted that the current trustees are “doing the best they can with the resources that they have.”

As the forum wound down, all candidates reiterated the importance of student success and measures that support teachers while addressing classroom needs. In closing, they tied in the ways in which their personal lives led them to run for these positions.

“Really, I'm just a concerned parent in this county and I want to focus on building a strong school district,” Thurston stated.

“Two years ago, I ran for the at-large position and I’m so grateful that I lost because I wasn’t ready,” closed Armstrong, adding that she is ready now to bring her experience as an educator and community member to the board.

“Some folks are going to come in and come out. I’m not going anywhere … Everything I do has to be calculated and I have to have a passion for it. This is something I have a passion for,” closed Zavala.

The 2026 election for all three trustee positions will take place Saturday, May 2. More information about the candidates can be found at www.hayscisd.net/o/hcisd/page/election2026.

Acceptance is subject to criteria regarding space and staffing considerations, as well as the student’s attendance, discipline and academic history, the district stated. 

Families applying for an out-of-district transfer must complete the Out-of-District General Transfer Application and pay a $150 administrative fee at the time of application — students who are accepted must reapply and pay the applicable fees annually. Applications are reviewed in the order they are received. It is highly recommended to submit the completed application and all required documents as early as possible.

DSISD schools provide a comprehensive curriculum based on the goal of student achievement and experience at the highest levels to prepare students for success. In 2025, three campuses earned an A rating in the annual Texas Education Agency accountability ratings and all campuses earned at least a score of 87. DSISD is consistently rated one of the best school districts in the Greater Austin area by Niche, and achieved a top 25 ranking in the state by Niche in 2025, stated a DSISD news release.

Funding for Texas public school districts is based on the Average Daily Attendance of each enrolled student. Due to a slowdown in student enrollment, DSISD has “extra seats” in lower grade levels across the district. Strategically filling those limited seats with out-of-district transfer students increases funding for the district, without increasing operating costs, the release continued.

Families are encouraged to review the www.dsisdtx.us/page/transfers for more information.

DRIPPING SPRINGS — Dripping Springs ISD announced the appointment of Dr. Leanna Pesta as the next principal for Walnut Springs Elementary School after the DSISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved her hiring at the March 30 meeting.

Pesta brings seven years of experience in elementary administration and more than 15 years in education.

For the past two years, Pesta has served as principal of NYOS Charter School in Austin.

She has demonstrated strong instructional leadership, developing an instructional model to support targeted instruction and intervention using data analysis and MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) systems, stated a DSISD news release. She also fostered a collaborative culture that improved teacher retention and strengthened instructional practices through coaching and professional learning and expanded student leadership and family engagement by implementing Leader in Me and launching the Watch D.O.G.S. program.

Following years as a classroom teacher, Pesta began her administrative career in 2019 as an assistant principal at West Cypress Hills Elementary School in Lake Travis ISD. She later served as an assistant principal at Rutledge Elementary School in Leander ISD. In addition to the principal certification, Pesta holds certificates in English as a Second Language and Special Education.

A native of Buffalo, New York, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Education from Mercyhurst University and a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Gannon University. She received her doctorate in Educational Administration from Concordia University in 2020.

The ceremony will include remarks from Superintendent Dr. Holly Morris-Kuentz, board president Dr. Stefani Reinold and several DSISD students. Guests will also enjoy music by the Sycamore Springs Middle School band, along with light refreshments. The event will take place near the CSE visitor parking lot, just east of the campus.

Voters approved construction of the district’s second comprehensive high school in the May 2025 bond election, following completion of the campus design, which began with voter approval of the 2023 bond program. Located on Darden Hill Road, the new campus will serve 2,500 students in grades 9-12 and is projected to open for the 2028-29 school year.

In addition to the approximately 506,000-square-foot main building, the campus will include baseball and softball fields, tennis courts, two practice fields, a band practice lot, an agriculture barn and a sub-varsity competition stadium.

All DSISD stakeholders and community members are invited to attend the ceremony. More information on High School #2 can be found at www.dsisdtx.us/highschool2.

The special education and adult transition services 18+ program is offered by way of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which ensures that all children with disabilities have a free appropriate public education that is designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment and independent living, according to previous reporting by the News-Dispatch. DSISD’s 18+ program had been housed in various locations over the years, leading the district to construct a new facility to further serve those students’ needs.

Presentations

DSISD broke ground on the new facility — funded through the 2023 bond program — near Sycamore Springs elementary and middle schools, in November 2025. Then, in December 2025, the board approved the construction documents, in which a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP 1) was submitted that exceeded the established budget of $2.75 million.

“The team verified that the GMP [was] correct and so, then went to work on value engineering,” said chief operations officer Scott Berry during the board’s March 30 meeting. “During that time, the district instructed the design and construction team that the building must function as it is intended.” DSISD was assured that the design and construction team knew that “nothing is more important” than having the facility’s functionality because it is meant to prepare those students for a transition into adulthood, Berry said.

It must also be within the original budget, match the existing area and the timeline be expedited, he continued.

Moving into his presentation, Darrell Pearson of PBK Architects said that based on the schedule that was originally established, the project would already be under construction with an anticipated opening for the 2026-27 school year — however, that has changed.

He explained the timeline that the team has been on for the last few months and noted that, in January, they received numbers back from Swinerton, the construction manager at risk (CMAR), that the project was “significantly over budget, to the point where we said, ‘Hold on, it’s not even close. We’ve got to stop.'” During that timeframe, Pearson said they got an independent cost estimator that showed them the budget would be a little high, but “nothing out of the realm that we couldn’t value engineer down with a few modifications, but the number was so significant that we pressed pause.”

He echoed Berry’s earlier points that PBK sat down with Swinerton to go over the non-negotiables of: maintaining the educational spaces as intended; keeping the functionality of the building; the building must resemble what was approved and within the context of the adjacent campus; and the budget cannot change.

In doing so, Pearson shared that they have also worked on identifying cost-saving measures: “Let’s not change anything that is going on inside that building, but how can we make some modifications to reduce the cost,” he said.

To meet the established budget, Pearson said they implemented the following site and building strategies:

• Reduce parking and drives

• Reconfigure parking and drives to avoid retaining walls and cut/ fill of hillside

• Relocate building to avoid cut/ fill

• Remove items that can be added at a later date

• Remove and simplify some underground utility lines

• Remove outdoor yard

• Use wood framed construction

• Simplify building foundation

• Reduce extents of canopy

• Reduce height of building

• Utilize all one roofing system

• Change to split-system heating, ventilation and air conditioning system

• Utilize efficient finishes “We looked at every component of the project and then, we decided that we are going to meet that established budget. We are going to make some modifications to the building. It will still have effectively the same appearance that we already presented, but doing the building differently to reduce cost,” he stated.

Moving forward, the new construction documents for the revised building were set to be complete by April 3 and Swinerton is committed to have a number for GMP 1 — site work, building pad and utilities — April 15 and then, for board approval at its next meeting.

The rest of the new project schedule, as presented by Pearson, is as follows:

• Swinerton to mobilize and be on the site in early May

• Construction documents will be issued for the remainder of the project — GMP #2 — for Swinerton to present to DSISD in June

• Construction to be completed before Christmas of this year.

Board discussion

Opening up discussion and comments from the board was trustee Tricia Quintero, who shared that she is “very disappointed in this project” because she knows there are a lot of community members who have been waiting for this to come to fruition.

“We went to the groundbreaking, we did all of the things that we do and then, it’s taken a really long time for this project to get going and I am super sad about that for our community members that are a part of this program,” she said.

She then simply asked, 'What went wrong?'

Pearson said that they were taken aback and shocked by the current market costs, but immediately responded to dissect every piece of the project, which has taken some time.

Quintero asked for clarification on the outdoor garden that would have been a part of the project, if it were to align with the budget: “In my brain, as a taxpayer, I’m like, ‘Let’s build it right the first time. What exactly would that mean?'” Pearson responded that during the process, it was said that it would be nice to have a greenhouse and garden space in the back, if possible. Though it wasn’t originally, it became a part of the scope of the project and they made some decisions about what could or could not be reduced as it evolved.

Superintendent Dr. Holly Morris-Kuentz said that the greenhouse and garden space can be added on at a later date.

Trustee Rob McClelland acknowledged that this is the first time that funding has been insufficient to current costs, but it is sad because the district has already broken ground.

He continued that they have brought on a new CMAR to DSISD and asked: “Are we confident, as we move forward in this process, that we have the trade base within that group to facilitate this project, based on the revised design that you are putting together?”

James Conkle, director of construction and planning for DSISD, responded that Swinerton “has been a little bit slow kind of getting to the game on this” with little CMAR experience with school districts as a big commercial firm, but the building might be a wood construction — where they do have significant experience in — that can help the district.

McClelland said that he doesn’t want to compromise this project because they don’t have the trade base to get it where they need to get it, where he is open to the possibility of an alternative delivery method for a better price.

For him to say “yes” at the next voting meeting, McClelland said that he wants to see revised renderings and construction documents, along with a bi-division hard cost estimate.

That could be a challenge, Conkle said, because he is worried about giving the board a hard cost before bidding the project to their subcontractors next month.

“I am concerned because we can’t approve GMP 1 if we don’t know and we haven’t bid the building,” McClelland said. “The worst-case scenario is we spend money on this project and now we have a cost overrun, a substantial one, which is what we would have phased if we approved GMP 1 to begin with. That I will not vote for under any circumstances.”

He asked that the requested items be provided to the board to whatever extent is feasible, adding that he appreciates that the problem was acknowledged and then, the project was paused before getting too far down the road.

Trustee Dr. Mary Jane Hetrick said that she just hopes that the project is not rushed to be done by December.

“I want these kids to have what they need. I don’t want us to shorten anything because of the budget or, I mean, if we have to take an extra month to get these kids what they need. They deserve this facility and I just don’t want things cut out of this project that these kids deserve,” added trustee Kim Cousins.

The DSISD Board of Trustees meets next for agenda review at 2 p.m. April 20 and then for its regular meeting at 6 p.m. April 27.

To listen to the full presentation and board discussion, visit www.dsisdtx.us/page/board-meeting-livestream.

Since February 2024, the district has been awarding its staff members — 23 in total so far — through the program, which was created as a way to highlight those who go above and beyond.

This also came about from WISD’s revitalized strategic plan that was adopted in 2023, where one of the elements was to prioritize supporting faculty and staff excellence. According to communications director Allen Bruggman, the Texan of the Month program was created to give staff recognition, make them feel valued for the work they do and highlight them in alternate ways outside of receiving a paycheck.

“If you ever look at our whole strategic plan, there's a huge spreadsheet with different priorities and goals and ways to meet those objectives,” explained Bruggman. “One of them within faculty and staff excellence is the highlighting of staff who do a great job and so, this program was created with that in mind: to give staff recognition, to have them feel like they're part of the process and, through the nomination process, make them feel valued for the work that they do.”

Texan of the Month is solely nomination-based, Bruggman said. The district sends out a form that is always available for employees to recommend their peers — even those who may be on a different campus — for “living out the vision of the district,” which is excellence, innovation and service.

Then, a committee consisting of those who work within the superintendent’s office sit around the table to deliberate and decide the nomination that is most compelling and abides by the mission as closely as possible.

“[The announcement] usually ends up being the beginning of the next month … The committee usually comes together that last week of the month and looks at submissions,” Bruggman explained. “If someone is nominated in August of the same school year, we keep all of those submissions from throughout the school year and consider everybody who's been nominated throughout the school year. So, we look at new ones and ones that have already been submitted the last week of that month and then, of course, reach out and try to schedule and make sure all the different people can be there at the same time the following week.”

When WISD launched the program, it sent out a call for businesses who would like to sponsor a $250 prize. Bruggman shared that within the first approximately two days, seven businesses had committed to being a part of the effort.

So, the district has the business who writes a check or brings the cash prize for the winner, but then, also, others stepped up to want to do something every month as well, Bruggman said. Gift cards or certificates have been provided by The Med Spa, Salon Devino and The Leaning Pear restaurants. Along with this, WISD is also able to give each recipient a Texan of the Month coin to also commemorate the award.

“I think the coolest thing for me that was maybe reaffirmed was just the fact of how supportive our community is and how supportive they want to be to our staff members. In so many ways, these businesses that stepped up to do the sponsorship and to award the money and the other other gifts to the winners,” he said. “It’s very validating that the school district feels that support from our business community and from the people who want to make our teachers and their staff members feel special.”

Johnson’s presentation detailed that, as of Feb. 28, $3.7 million of the $9.6 million professional services budget had been utilized. Total design on all projects is 95% complete. The next phases are procurement, construction and administration.

To date, only 5% of total available bond expenditures have been committed — $6.8 million of the $135 million available. In February, significant financial commitments included laundry upgrades at Wimberley High School (WHS), audio enhancements and bus security upgrades.

Regarding the buses, Ryan Rosborough — another representative of AGCM — stated that cameras have been “strategically added” to enhance bus security.

“You might remember, previously, we didn’t have external cameras or backup cameras, so the driver couldn’t see in reverse,” noted Rosborough.

Since the last update, revisions have been made to the Blue Hole Parking Project from Bid Package 1. According to Johnson, the updated design will “increase the availability of parking spots [to get] in and out of the parking lot easier.” Construction is anticipated to begin once a contractor is approved.

The baseball and softball fields also received their Dark Sky certification since the last update. Johnson regarded this as a big milestone and said the football field was next on the list.

“It’s going to be great. No more dark areas on the football field,” the representative stated.

After the bond presentation, the board approved a redesign that will combine Danforth Junior High School (DJH) and the Wimberley ISD Central Administration Building into one plat, or tract of land. This project is included in Bid Package 2 and its execution has been a collaborative effort with the city.

The existing plats are “one big drainfield if you look at it,” Johnson stated, as he displayed a map of the Danforth property. “We avoided any drainage easements and the property can be treated as one plat.”

The replat includes construction of a wall around the combined properties. Johnson explained that adjustments had to be made all around to meet the 8-inch high coding requirement after the board inquired whether the wall served a purpose outside of aesthetics.

The board also approved a contract with Texas Air System for the WISD cooling tower refurbishment project. The refurbishment was originally contracted to Bartlett Cocke, the construction manager for bid packages 2 and 3, but was pulled for outside contracting.

Mike Doyle, chief financial officer for WISD, explained that Texas Air System will “provide the same services that Bartlett Cocke or their sub[contractor] would have done already, but we’re able to save some on percentage fees or markups there.”

He added that “time is of the essence” for this project, as the cooling tower is in such a state that repairs are needed as soon as possible.

According to Johnson, the bond management team will “have a lot going on” with six ongoing projects and “design will be transitioning to construction and administration.” Next month, work will continue on Blue Hole Parking negotiations, WHS and DJH permitting, roofing and HVAC materials procurement and miscellaneous improvements that were not discussed in detail.

For its overall budget, Doyle stated that the board earned more than $1.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026-27 and saw an effective return of 3.99%. Including quarter one, the district has earned around $3.2 million. Those funds earned are banked and reinvested into capital improvement projects as part of the bond package.

“At the speed that we’re moving, we’re in a great position. As [Johnson] pointed out, we’re already breaking ground on multiple projects. We’re going to start seeing some significant payouts in the next coming months,” concluded Doyle.

The board of trustees will hold its next regular meeting Monday, April 20.

The candidates were selected from nearly 3.6 million students expected to graduate from high school in the year 2026. Inclusion in the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program is one of the highest honors bestowed upon graduating high school seniors, stated a news release. Scholars are selected based on superior academic and artistic achievements, leadership qualities, strong character and involvement in community and school activities.

Further consideration will be based on the students' essays, self-assessments, description of activities, school recommendations and transcripts.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964 by Executive Order of the President to recognize some of the nation’s most distinguished graduating seniors for their accomplishments in many areas: academic success, leadership and service to school and community. It was then expanded in 1979 to recognize students demonstrating exceptional scholarship and talent in the visual, creative and performing arts. In 2015, the program was expanded once again to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical fields.

Annually, up to 161 U.S. Presidential Scholars are chosen from among that year’s senior class, representing excellence in education and the promise of greatness in America’s youth, the release continued.

A distinguished panel of educators will review these submissions and select approximately 600 semifinalists in the spring. The Commission on Presidential Scholars, a group of eminent citizens appointed by the president, will select the finalists and the U.S. Department of Education will announce the scholars in the summer.

To commemorate their achievement, U.S. Presidential Scholars are awarded the Presidential Scholars Medallion.

For more information about the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, parents and students can email the U.S. Presidential Scholars Office at PSP@scholarshipamerica.org or call 507.931.8345.

Prior to item discussion, several community members took to public comment to voice their concerns, including a McCormick Middle School student, who expressed that playing on two sports teams the year prior is what motivated him to come to school. These coaches are also teachers, he continued, one of whom inspired him to take an engineering course in high school.

“Because of them, I work hard in class every day to try my best on and off the field. Ive been putting in the work to get better and move up [teams] next year, but with these changes, I wonder [what will happen] … Many of [my friends] can't afford to play outside of school because of the costs … I [also] wonder how many students will stop showing up when they don’t have something to look forward to.”

A Hays CISD educator, Jessie Hartgrave, spoke on the effects coming toward teachers, specifically those that will lose stipends for their work in the special education (SPED) department.

“SPED is one of the most difficult jobs to get filled; that’s why this stipend exists. If we take away these stipends, it will take away good, qualified teachers and it will take away good, qualified SPED and inclusion teachers, as well,” said Hartgrave. “[Teachers] are the only group that is being asked to take less money next year than we were paid this year, not [Superintendent Dr. Eric] Wright, who is a top-10 earner of superintendents in the state of Texas, not his cabinet and not the people that work in this [administration] building. The teachers are the ones being asked to take the cut and it’s not fair.”

He also added that the district has “bonded the community to death” in regard to the several bonds that have been brought forward in recent years.

Tobias Elementary School fifth grade teacher Ruah Gleason shared that she is concerned about the number of students who will be in the classrooms, as soon, her new reality will be 27 11-year-olds in one room. This will prevent teachers from being able to provide the best education, she said, adding that they are being asked to do less with more.

“What’s being proposed is not only disappointing, it’s truly unacceptable. Let’s be clear about the facts. Hays CISD has consistently grown exponentially each and every year. At the same time, funding pressures from expiring federal dollars, shifts in revenue and other factors were not sudden, nor were they unpredictable. These were known realities, yet the plan before us is asking students and campuses to absorb the consequences of that lack of planning,” said Fabiola Sanchez, Parent Teacher Student Association president at McCormick Middle School.

According to Wright, the process to begin discussing budget cuts started after the failed tax ratification election (TRE) in November last year. The district was initially projecting a need to cut $20 million per year for three years, or 200 positions, to make the budget sustainable moving forward, but expanding from three to five years has allowed the cuts to lessen.

Wright then covered the history of funding, reminding the board that prior to the most recent legislative session, the basic student allotment kept its pre-pandemic funding of $6,160. Now, it is at $6,215, though, to keep pace with inflation, the increase would have needed to be $1,000. This funding from the state is placed into the district’s maintenance and operations (M&O) funding, which is the bucket that pays salaries, buys fuel, pays bills and more, he said. This is the only discretionary money the district has, as the other is dictated to state-specified categories that the school is then annually audited on.

The other bucket — which is what many get confused by, said Wright — is the interest and sinking fund. This is sponsored locally and is how athletic facilities and other additions are paid for.: “I would love to take the money that we spend on the track and the turf and pay salaries with it, but by law I can’t do that … So, today, we aren’t talking about the interest and sinking part or any of the bond elections or the money that built this building or any of that. We’re talking about money for operations and salaries.”

Comparing Texas to the other states, the national average is $17,870 per student, but in Texas, including earmarked funding, it’s $14,104, said Wright, ranking the state at 38/50. As far as how much money is spent on each student, the average is $9,861, while Texas is $5,835, landing it at 47/50.

“Since 2019/2020, Texas has increased M&O funding by $12.05 billion. Of that amount, $11.67 billion is absorbed by retention allotments, student growth, state mandates, hold harmless funding, programs for certain districts, teachers and students and previously unfunded employee pay increases. This leaves $380 million in net M&O funding for other operating increases, equal to $69 per student,” read the presentation.

The superintendent said if the state was keeping pace with inflation, it would have been $1,000. Instead, it’s at $69.

Regarding staffing numbers, Wright noted that residents comment that the district is “top heavy” when it comes to staffing administration, but that the state average is 4.7%, while the district has cut its down to 3.4%.

Additionally, he shared that the tax rate has decreased from $1.4677 to $1.1546 since 2020: “That’s why we thought we might have an outside chance of getting our taxpayers to vote for the TRE because the tax rate has been decreased every single year, but it’s just bad timing and the voters spoke.”

Moving onto the proposed plan, Wright said that staff shifted to five years as compared to the original three, “so the pain wouldn’t be felt all at one time” and instead of taking an axe to programs they “took a scalpel to them.”

“None of the cuts that we’re going to recommend are good. They all are harmful, but it’s at a point where we have to be sustainable and we have to get this account back up, so that we can continue to pay the payroll and continue to pay the bills,” he said.

These propositions would be implemented in the 2026-27 school year and would be saving $12.25 million. Wright stated that if the district can make the proposed cuts this year and earmark it in the budget for the next four years, then it will be able to put $90 million back into the fund balance. The fund balance is necessary because the district has months where no income is coming in, due to when state and tax payments are distributed, so this is to fill that void.

From this $90 million, $25 million is needed to open up the new schools, which have also been pushed back from the original opening dates. Now, Comprehensive High School #4 and Middle School #7 would open in 2030, while Elementary School #18 would open in 2028.

Trustee Johnny Flores asked how McCormick and Johnson High School will be affected, since they were the primary schools that were looking for relief when it came to these new facilities. Wright stated that because the demographers estimate on students was incorrect this year, due to low enrollment, the schools have less students than expected. So, it can be held off, but when the maximum number of students is reached, then they will begin the cap and overflow model, which includes sending students to campuses that are not as full.

The cuts that are recommended are as follows:

Central office and district staff personnel cuts: $2,689,539

• Reduces district from two deputy superintendents to one.

• Restructures the Curriculum and Instruction Department leadership team by eliminating deputy academic officer positions and reclassifying the leadership positions into a lower pay grade.

• Reduces total number of central office positions by 5%

Increased class sizes: $5,040,000

• Increases student to teacher ratio in Pre-Kindergarten to fourth grade up to 24:1.

• Increases student to teacher ratio in fifth grade up to 27:1.

• Increases student to teacher ratio in sixth through 12th grade up to 30:1.

• Reduces needed teacher positions by 63 districtwide (to be absorbed predominantly through attrition).

Fine arts and athletics reductions: $826,700

• Reduces the number of secondary fine arts positions at most secondary campuses

• Reduces total districtwide athletic budget by 8.5%

• Reduces the number of athletics teams offered at secondary campuses by removing “C” and some “B” teams.

• Eliminates stadium manager stipend.

Suspension of certain staff stipends, incentives and surcharge payment coverage: $2,284,105

• Suspends select staff stipends and incentives until an unknown future fiscal year, which includes: $1,500 special education recruitment/retention incentive, $1,500 bilingual recruitment/retention incentive and stipends for teachers with masters — $2,000 each annually — and doctoral degrees — $4,500 each annually.

• Requires retired employees who are rehired to pay the Teacher Retirement System surcharge costs.

• Requires employees to begin paying the necessary fees and paycheck deductions previously covered by the district out of their Teacher Incentive Allotment payments.

Restructuring of attendance and Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) reporting: $550,932

• Reduces the number of PEIMS clerks by half and centralizes duties.

• Reduces the number of days worked each school year for attendance clerk positions.

Library and social services reductions: $860,000

• Consolidates secondary campus librarians, reducing the number of district librarians by seven.

• Cuts the Communities in Schools (CIS) social services program in half.

“We tried to make our cuts as equal as possible throughout the district, so that we could still have a functional and high performing school district,” said Wright.

“The hardest thing for me on this list is the increased class sizes,” said trustee Courtney Runkle. “There’s nothing about it I like. My kid sits in those classes, too, and I’ve been in them and they are full. But what I do know is that I know that we have amazing teachers and I know that our teachers always figure it out, unfortunately because that’s what they’ve had to do. We’re going to figure it out again and they’re going to give the best quality education to our students.”

For staff members that will be affected, whether losing money, days or entire jobs, the superintendent shared that the Human Resources Department met with them to have a face to face discussion. Although still impacting them, he emphasized that the district wanted to let them know as soon as possible, so that they could begin making the necessary changes for themselves, since this won’t take place until next school year.

Hays CISD is also allowing those losing their jobs to apply for other positions within the district internally.

For the extracurricular activities, Wright said that staff didn’t want to remove any of the programs, so they didn’t. However, this does mean that coaches will have to think differently about them now. For example, C Teams will be removed, but this would increase the number of students on the A and B teams instead. There was also a coach recommendation of having a fifth quarter during games, so those that didn’t get to play in the first four quarters would still have the opportunity to play.

Furthermore, because fees will be introduced, a sliding scale could be brought forward based on students that receive free and reduced lunch.

Runkle stated that if anything is going to change with these activities, such as costs, then communication needs to be made clear immediately because the PTAs, booster clubs and parents are already planning for next year.

The affected library services were chosen from data, said Wright. At the elementary schools, circulation is high, since students are learning how to read. The same isn’t true at the middle and high school levels. Because of this, it was decided that a lead librarian would be implemented for all middle schools and all high schools, while keeping the library technicians.

Along with the cuts, Wright explained that the situation could be aided by improving attendance performance. Currently, the district sits at 93.7% attendance. For every 1% the district can raise its attendance rate, it receives $1.5 million in funding. He also said that an online program is being explored and will be sent out on surveys that could potentially pick up other students, including families that have been impacted by or are concerned about Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Hays CISD could also ask for another TRE election. Even $0.03 would add $12 million a year to the district’s budget, said Wright.

“I want to address the elephant in the room and that’s Dr. Wright’s salary. I want to tell you why that is. I sat on the two days of interviews when we hired him in 2016 and y’all, there wasn’t a close second that came before us. This [situation] could be a lot worse, if we didn’t have the leadership that we do. He’s paid well and that’s because, otherwise, other school districts would steal him,” said trustee Vanessa Petrea.

Those on the board also touched on the failure of the Texas Legislature to provide funding for schools, emphasizing that Hays CISD is not the only district facing these challenges.

“We tell you to go advocate at the state level, [and] absolutely go advocate at the state level, but advocacy alone isn’t going to balance our budget, so we have to do both. So, here we are doing both. This administration has tried really hard to protect the environment of the classroom,” Runkle stressed. “Our teachers do more and more. Our staff is asked to do more and more. Our district is not unique to other districts, especially in the state of Texas … We did hope that the state was going to come through. We shouldn’t have hoped.”

“Instead of just funding general public education, they’re trying to fund three different tiers now. They have public schools, they have charters and now, they’re going to have vouchers. There’s just not enough money to go around to fund all three and do quality,” said Wright.

Flores echoed this, stating that a continuous cycle has been created by the legislature creating unfunded mandates that take away from funding and create uproar in communities, while then offering vouchers for private schools.

Despite these frustrations, Flores concluded that, “When we say 100% Hays CISD, that’s exactly what we mean and we are going to get through this.”

Trustee Byron Severance motioned to approve the item, followed by a second from Petrea. It passed 7-0.

For more information on the budget cuts, visit www.hayscisd.net/o/hcisd/page/reductions2026.

Apollo was established in 1990 and serves investors in credit, equity and real assets strategies, according to its website.

Black acted as chair and CEO since the company's inception, but later stepped down from his position in March 2021, stated the Associated Press to “focus on family, health and ‘many other interests.’”

Prior to lessening his role within the organization, Apollo purchased Shutterfly — Lifetouch’s parent company — in 2019. This was following Epstein’s death in August 2019.

In 2025, Black’s name was noted numerous times in the Epstein files — a collection of documents detailing activities of Jeffrey Epstein — following their initial release.

The culmination of the Epstein files follows the charge of sex trafficking minors and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors. According to the Department of Justice, the financier allegedly “sexually exploited and abused dozens of underaged girls by enticing them to engage in sex acts with him in exchange for money … In creating and maintaining this network of minor victims in multiple states to abuse and exploit sexually, Epstein worked with others, including employees and associates who facilitated his conduct by, among other things, contacting victims and scheduling their sexual encounters with Epstein at the New York Residence and at the Palm Beach Residence.”

While awaiting his trail, he died by suicide in 2019. Since then, several influential names have been mentioned in the files, which contain allegations of sexual abuse.

Black was found more than 8,000 times in the files, where there were transactions from the CEO in amounts sometimes exceeding $100,000. Additionally, in 2016, an email reads that “Leon Black will come see JE tomorrow at 10 a.m. … He may want breakfast … Please be prepared …” There are also other appointments with Black listed throughout the files.

Although Apollo didn’t purchase Shutterfly — and thus, Lifetouch — until 2019, a month after Epstein’s death in August, parents and school districts raised concerns, following the connection to Black. Some questioned whether student portraits were passed around in the alleged sex trafficking ring hosted by Epstein. This led to several districts severing their ties with the photography company, including Athens ISD in Texas and Carter County Schools in Kentucky.

Lifetouch released a statement in response to the distress:

“When Lifetouch photographers take your student’s picture, that image is safeguarded for families and schools, only, with no exceptions. Lifetouch does not – and has never provided – images to any third party,” said CEO Ken Murphy. “Funds managed by subsidiaries of Apollo Global Management are investors in Shutterfly, the parent company of Lifetouch. Neither Apollo nor its funds are involved in the day-to-day operations of Lifetouch and therefore no one employed by Apollo has ever had access to any student images.”

Murphy also stated that “Lifetouch is not named in the Epstein files,” and though there are no seemingly explicit mentions in conversations or photos, a purchase statement period from 2019 in the files does note that a $106.70 purchase was made from Lifetouch.

“This is an online social media conspiracy, with no basis in facts. We don’t know how the rumor started but we want to ensure the public has the facts about this situation, which is unfairly impacting our business and employees,” Murphy continued.

Despite this assurance from Lifetouch that student portraits are secure, two school districts within Hays County have shared that they will be reconsidering their contract with Lifetouch come fall 2026.

Blake Barington, Dripping Springs ISD communications specialist, stated that, currently, five of six elementary schools in the district use Lifetouch for school portraits and, although photo days for this school year are complete, the district will be reviewing the contract to determine whether it will continue. According to a 2024 post to the district’s high school website, senior photos seem to be taken by Cady Photography.

Hays CISD has been using Lifetouch for more than 15 years, said chief communication officer Tim Savoy. Most recently, a request for proposal was done in 2018 — prior to Apollo’s acquisition — and awarded Lifetouch the contract to serve all campuses. This decision was likely based on several factors, including product quality, ability to integrate with district information technology and cost to parents, said Savoy. Additionally, he said that the contract is through The Interlocal Purchasing System bidding cooperative, which vets vendors for compliance with state regulations. The district also does not pay for Lifetouch’s services.

The contract, continued Savoy, shared that Hays CISD does not independently own the photos taken by Lifetouch, as, “It is standard in the photography business for photography companies and independent photographers to retain the copyrights to photos in an attempt to prevent customers from buying one photo and reproducing them without paying for photography packages. When people buy photographs from professional photography companies, they are usually actually just buying a license to have a version of the photographs. Though the district doesn’t technically own the copyright to the photos, Lifetouch is bound by federal law to protect student privacy.”

The photographers are also screened by Hays CISD and student information is limited in release, with the district only sharing what is necessary to conduct picture day.

“We learned of the connection with the rest of the country earlier in February,” shared Savoy. “Moving forward, and prior to fall picture days, the district will continue to conduct a thorough review of Lifetouch and potentially consider other vendors in accordance with policy and state procurement laws.”

To streamline this process, the district has created a committee to consider — if the district can under the current agreement with Lifetouch — soliciting proposals from photography vendors.

“The district needs parents to choose to allow children to have fall pictures taken and understands that parents must be comfortable with the company awarded the contract to take school photos in Hays CISD,” Savoy said.

For more information on Hays CISD’s current contract status, visit www.hayscisd.net/lifetouch.

Wimberley ISD is the only district to not have a contract with Lifetouch, according to Allen Bruggman, communications director. Instead, Austin photographing company Photo Texas has been the provider for Danforth Junior High School since 2013, Jacob’s Well Elementary School since 2021 and Blue Hole Primary School since 2022. Recently, Wimberley High School entered into an agreement with Cady Photography based on photo quality, speed of delivery and other perks, said Bruggman, though it previously used Photo Texas, as well.

Cady Photography’s contract provides joint ownership to the photos, while informing “WISD that they do not share or sell data in any way, and are SOC 2 compliant, which is a voluntary framework for service providers to prove they securely manage customer data. Photo Texas claims that no data or metrics are sold to third parties, that they're compliant with [Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act] student privacy regulations, and all previous years' photos are securely archived and encrypted,” the director shared.

“Wimberley ISD remains steadfast in its commitment to making the safety and security of our students our highest priority,” he concluded.

As the remaining contracts with Lifetouch remain uncertain, parents, such as Dripping Springs resident Teresa Tautfest, urged the districts on social media to “hire local” instead, while Mari Verastegui said that her family has opted out of photos with Lifetouch in Hays CISD.

For community members wishing to search the Epstein files to conduct their own research, visit www.justice.gov/epstein.