A Texas native, Michael Follis recently returned to the state after spending two years in Chicago, where he worked as a music educator, professional singer, church musician and senior associate conductor of the Chicago chapter of the Grammy Award-winning National Children's Chorus.

Follis began his career in public education in 2020 after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin. He served for two years as assistant director of Choral Activities at East View High School in Georgetown, helping lead a choral program of more than 150 students across four ensembles.

Prior to relocating to Chicago, Follis spent more than three years as director of music at Shepherd of the Hills Christian Church in Austin and served as assistant conductor of Chorus Austin, the city's symphonic choral ensemble.

Follis earned a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from UT Austin, where he performed with the University of Texas Chamber Singers and served as a section leader in Texas Choirs. He also made history as the first undergraduate appointed director of the Longhorn Singers, the university's official show choir, in the ensemble's 60-year history. Follis later earned a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from UT Austin.

Elliott brings 21 years of experience in Texas public school theatre programs. Most recently, he served for five years as the Theatre Curator for Fredericksburg ISD, where he managed the district auditorium and served as house manager and lighting and sound designer for district events.

Prior to Fredericksburg, Elliott served as theatre director at middle schools in both Boerne ISD and Round Rock ISD. During his tenure in Round Rock, he led the theatre program to six first-place finishes in One-Act Play, while also growing the program by more than 250 students. He began his career in neighboring Hays CISD.

Outside of the classroom, Elliott owns a bespoke costume company and leads workshops on costuming and pattern making at the annual Texas Educational Theatre Association Conference.

Elliott holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Education from Texas State University.

Dripping Springs ISD trustee Rob McClelland, pictured right, is sworn in to serve another three-year term on the board. Both his and Cousins' terms will expire in May 2029.

The new role will be responsible for providing districtwide campus support to both teachers and campus leaders, stated a news release. The role will lead and coordinate multiple initiatives that are either brand new to WISD, like the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA), and systems that have undergone massive changes by the state in recent years, such as the Teachers Education Association accountability system, the STAAR assessments and the College, Career, Military Readiness (CCMR) measurement.

“I am grateful to our board for approving this important position to expand support for our teachers and students. With new programs and increased state requirements created over the past several years, this is a critical moment to invest directly in our students and teachers,” said Superintendent Dr. Greg Bonewald. “Growth in student achievement is dependent on teachers having access to the training, tools and data they need to excel. This position will help bridge an existing gap and enhance our district’s ability to achieve the important goals established by our board in our strategic plan.”

Following the creation of the position, Bonewald announced that current Wimberley High School assistant principal, Errin Jennings, has been appointed to serve in this new role.

Bonewald continued, sharing that “Jennings possesses a rare skill set. Seeing her leadership on the high school campus this past year made it clear that we needed to find a way to more fully utilize her talents in an intentional way for the benefit of our faculty and students. Her prior experience with the TIA program and her passion for supporting teachers and students through data-driven instruction make her an ideal fit for this position.”

“I am so appreciative for the opportunity to serve the students, staff and families of Wimberley High School and I’m thrilled that this position will allow me to expand that impact throughout the district,” said Jennings. “I believe passionately that when teachers feel supported, students will grow and I can’t wait to get started.”

Following the announcement of Jennings, Bonewald also announced that Christy Brothers, who previously led the district’s Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP), would be joining the WHS administrative team as assistant principal to fill the vacancy created by Jennings’s transition.

Brothers has served as the WISD DAEP director for the last five years and has an additional six years of experience as a campus administrator at other districts. Prior to that, she had 14 years of experience working in various special education roles at districts around Texas.

“I’m incredibly excited to keep working alongside our wonderful WISD students, families, staff and community,” said Brothers. “I'm ready to hit the ground running and look forward to serving the students and staff at WHS.”

WHS principal Ryan Wilkes said, “Christy knows our school and our systems inside and out, which will allow us to maintain stability and structure. She has done a fantastic job at DAEP, holding high expectations for everyone, and we look forward to seeing her continue that excellent work at the high school campus.”

Brothers has a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies and a master’s degree in special education, both from Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She is married to her husband Dustin and has one adult son, Aaron. In her free time she enjoys traveling, gardening and taking care of her animals.

WISD is currently accepting applications for the DAEP director position.

According to the presentation, the Wimberley Strategic Plan is set to end in 2027, after its initial stage occurring in 2023. In it, the mission states that the district is “dedicated to excellence in education, empowering the next generation of Texas to have a positive impact locally and globally” through four priorities: empower student excellence, support faculty and excellence, strengthen community excellence and ensure operational excellence.

Focusing on the first priority — empowering students — Grisham noted that she would be sharing the district’s special education demographics and a review of the 2025 results-driven accountability district report, compiled of data from the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years.

“Beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, we started that school year on the snapshot day of having 286 students qualified for special education. By the end of that school year, we were at 304. If you skip forward and go into the ’25-’26 [school year] snapshot day, we had 486 students and at the end of the school year, we had 506,” shared Grisham. “That has been an increase of 200 students over those past five years in special education.”

She also explained that the growth for the most recent school year may appear to only be 20, but the district serves more than that. It actually served 575 students, but some may have been dismissed from the program, due to achieving goals, being removed or transferring out of the WISD.

The presentation also detailed the most prominent areas that qualify these students for special education:

•   Specific learning disability: 202 or 40.4%

•   Speech impairment: 110 or 22%

•   Autism: 52 or 10.4%

•   Other health impairment: 71 or 14.2%

•   Emotional disturbance: 40 or 8%

Moving onto the findings of the results-driven accountability district report, Grisham stated that WISD received a Determination Level 1: Meets Requirements, which is the highest ranking.

“Our kids with special learning needs, they are also achieving the district vision of excellence, innovation and service,” she emphasized. “We’re closing the gaps; our students are closing the gaps in their STAAR performance. Our 2026 graduates have all demonstrated essential workplace skills and our students are growing socially [and] academically. We have kids that are involved in almost all of our activities within our district.”

Although there are many areas to celebrate, she did note that there is room for improvement by persisting in closing academic gaps, increasing the number of college readiness testers and empowering students toward the completion of career programs and industry-based certificates.

In response to trustee Chad Canine’s inquiry on any challenges the program is facing, Grisham explained that staff is looking into how to provide training for the special education support staff, paraprofessionals and general education teachers who also play a role in supporting the students.

Trustee Rob Campbell noted that the students make up a large percentage of the overall district population at 21.5% and thanked Grisham for her hardwork.

The Wimberley ISD Board of Trustees will meet next Monday, July 27.

The development began after the district was on the hunt for more housing opportunities for its staff, following incentivized apartment rentals at several apartment complexes in Kyle, said Chief Human Resources Officer Christina Courson. It was then that Upward Communities approached the district in December 2024 to create a development entirely for staff members.

“It was the perfect fit because, now, we were looking at — instead of apartments — mostly single-family homes with their own yard, a neighborhood designed just for Hays CISD employees,” said Courson.

The community comes at no cost to the district and is retained through a 55-year housing agreement, designed to provide Hays CISD with a long-term recruitment and retention advantage, according to the district.

As the idea has begun taking shape, a location was needed. The chief officer stated that initially, Kyle was considered for the site, but, ultimately, a site north of Uhland Elementary School was chosen. The sale is set to be finalized in June 2026.

“We know from the demographer’s report that any growth occurring over the next 10 years … is going to occur moving eastward. So, we want to have a neighborhood that’s situated, first of all where all that growth is predicted, [but] also we want to help incentivize staff to work on our eastern side of the school district, where it’s somewhat harder to recruit,” she explained.

The location is not only going to benefit the district, but residents in Uhland, as well. The development is set to have a small retail area in the center, which Courson noted has been in the talks of including a grocery store and other small businesses.

The community, which sits on more than 100 acres, was designed by DPZ CoDesign, according to the district, and provides four housing choices for staff. The first are the Cottages, which are available in one and two bedrooms and bathrooms, with a private courtyard. These are similar to a duplex, due to having a shared wall, but separate spaces. Then, there is the Blanco, which is a standalone home, with two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a one-car garage and a front and back patio. The Clover and Daytona are similar to the Blanco, but have three bedrooms and a two car garage. Finally, the Fourstar and Cypress have four bedrooms.

The buildings, which Courson noted take inspiration from Kyle’s Plum Creek and Seaside, Florida — a community which was initially built for teachers — were built by Clark Wilson, with interior details by Vida Design.

Broken up into segments, the community will have four “pocket” parks that aim to meet different needs. The “relax” park has a fire pit, hammock grove, barbecue pits, a picnic area and chaise lounges, while the “garden” has a community garden, pollinator plants, herb garden and a picnic area. Those with families may find the “play” park enticing, as it will encompass a playfield, trike track, playground and picnic area. Then, similar to “relax,” the “backyard fun” park will have a fire pit, yard games, soccer field, Adirondack chairs, barbecue pits and a picnic area.

Currently, the first phase of rental housing is set to open for the 2027-28 school year and a list of more than 600 staff is already hoping to be chosen for the site.

This will be the most rewarding part — being able to help those that contribute to the education of the students, as some of those on the list have family members with special needs or are living with family and haven’t had the financial opportunity to move, she continued.

Because of this, she emphasized that when considering the community, the district wanted to do its best to be considerate of staff pay. So, the district is working on creating a tiered system that would allow those that are on the auxiliary and paraprofessional scales, for example, to have a deeper discount than those on the academic or business professional scales.

The projected average monthly rent is as follows:

• One bedroom: $795-$1,195

• Two bedroom: $995-$1,450

• Three bedroom: $1,350-$1,825

• Four bedroom: $1,575-$1,995

To further lessen these costs, the chief officer stated that she is excited for the prospect of staff having the ability to become roommates with each other.

“There’s actually going to be a service where individuals can find roommates to share housing, kind of like dorms,” Courson explained.

The district is currently working on creating a process to select the families and individuals that will move into the development. She stated that they are hoping to do a combination of current staff and those working in hard-to-fill positions, such as special education or bilingual roles, while having space to recruit staff in the future.

“In Hays CISD, when we are faced with challenges like teacher and school staff shortages, as well as funding concerns; we don’t shy away. Instead, that’s when we get to work to create solutions for our parents, students and the entire school district family. This program is an example of what we can do when we all work together and leverage the partnerships that are available to us,” said Superintendent Dr. Eric Wright.

Considering the district has more than 3,000 employees and only 362 units for the affordable housing community, Courson stated that, “depending on the success of this, we would love to see additional opportunities, maybe in Kyle or Buda. That’s for us to think of in the future, but the waitlist right now already shows interest beyond our capacity.”

The district will continue to share updates and information as it becomes available at www.hayscisd.net/hayshomes.

His love for educating people dates back to when he was a first grade student and, because his teacher knew that he was already an avid reader, was asked to help his classmates learn how to read. Wright shared that it was through that joy that he discovered from a young age that he knew he wanted to have a career in education.

Wright started his career as a student teacher in 1988 and then, became a full-time teacher in the classroom and coach in 1989, serving across several school districts in Texas, including Terrell, Channelview, West Hardin, Hardin, Marshall and Lufkin ISDs.

After learning what he could as an instructor, he entered into the following advanced leadership positions: assistant elementary school principal for Lufkin ISD in 1996; principal of an elementary school in Huntington ISD in 1997; principal of Huntington High School for the 2000-2001 school year; assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction at Huntington ISD in 2001-2004; named the superintendent for Woodville ISD in 2004; superintendent for Huntington ISD in 2006-2014; and superintendent for Fredericksburg ISD in 2014-2017.

The Hays CISD Board of Trustees hired him in December 2017 to serve as superintendent, thus beginning Wright’s leadership of the district Jan. 1, 2018. Since then, he has watched the district continue to evolve. At the time, there were approximately 19,000 students, Wright said, but now, the district has more than 25,000 students in the fast-growing area.

“Just watching the dynamic growth and trying to keep pace with that growth, so that all students have a nice place to learn has been crucial. Thanks to our community and our taxpayers, we've been able to pass several bonds in order to provide facilities that allow our students to have great spaces in which to learn and then, in fine arts and athletics [to] showcase their talents,” he shared.

Hays CISD is unique in that it serves multiple cities, including Buda, Kyle, San Marcos, Niederwald, Hays, Driftwood, Uhland and parts of Austin, Wright continued. Taking all of the different communities and listening to the various needs they have to give the students the best educational experience has been challenging, but rewarding at the same time, he said.

“I see public education as being the vehicle that can raise all boats and if a student is educated, then it provides opportunities for them,” the superintendent said. “It opens the doors and I think we are able to provide those opportunities, so they can be successful in whatever field that they want to move into later on in life.”

Over the years, there have been several accolades and accomplishments throughout Wright’s tenure.

Knowing that “if you can read, you can do anything,” Wright implemented a reading program during the beginning of his stint at Hays CISD. This emphasized the importance of teaching students how to read on grade level using phonics as a base, as, when he first started, reading scores in the district were in a deficit, but they now exceed state and regional averages.

He also shared that he is proud of the increased number of students taking advanced placement, dual credit and OnRamps courses, as well as the Career and Technology Education Department being able to partner with local business owners to help secure their future employees.

However, his favorite time of the month is meeting with the Student Advisory Panel and having the direct interaction with the students, as he is able to hear from those that are impacted the most from decisions made by the district.

“[It’s] made up of high school kids from all four of our high schools. We bring them in and we run policy decisions and building decisions because we always want to know how it impacts the end user, which always is our kids,” Wright said. “Anything that's curriculum in nature or that deals with the school district, we always want the student voice and so, monthly, I get to have student input and so, that's that's my biggest takeaway and it's probably one of the groups that I will miss the most is having the direct interaction with our students.”

After a nearly 40-year career in public education, Wright has decided that it’s time for him to step away to be able to spend more time with his wife and family, including his young grandchildren.

“I've been doing this work for almost four decades now and so, I just feel like it's time for me to make a change and enjoy my family. I love this job, but it is also all-consuming in volume with 25,000 students and over 3,500 employees. It never stops. It's like I'm on duty 365 [days a year], 24/7,” he said. “I'm ready to do something different. I love our team; I love our kids. I'm not walking away because of any dissatisfaction. I just want to do something different with my life and actually be there for my family moving forward.”

Wright will be retiring in February of next year. According to him, the best time for a superintendent to step down is in the middle of the school year because the budget is already set and “all of the manuals” are provided, leaving his replacement with the opportunity to have two to three months to learn about the district before most of the crucial decisions are made.

Looking ahead to the future of Hays CISD — as Wright vowed he will remain the number one fan and biggest cheerleader — he wants to continue to see the student enrollment and facilities grow, as well as whoever takes over his position to leave it better than they found it.

“I'm just eternally grateful for the original board that gave me the opportunity to work here and I've been blessed to have great trustees to work with … My executive cabinet is by far the best in the state; we've had a great continuity and everything that has been accomplished has been a team effort. I'm so proud of our outstanding teachers and our outstanding students,” Wright concluded. “Hays CISD is a destination district [and] I just want to thank them for all their support throughout all these years.”
 

At the beginning of the process of forming the district’s second high school’s identity, DSISD sent out a community survey that received nearly 4,000 responses. Out of those, the majority — with 28.4% strongly agreeing and 27.1% agreeing — found that both high schools should have one unifying color in common between them. However, a second question of if the two should have the same exact colors garnered more disagreement.

The community feedback was then provided to the Naming & Branding Committee, which recommended the following colorway packages that also aligned with school names:

– Driftwood High School: Navy blue, gold and white

– Driftwood Springs High School: Navy blue, gold and white

–Bear Creek High School: Maroon and sky blue

– Sycamore Springs High School: Maroon and metallic silver

– Cypress Springs High School: Forest green and gold

Ultimately, the committee recommended the official colors for Driftwood Springs High School be navy and gold.

“They liked the connection to Dark Sky. They thought it was a nice complement with gold. They also thought it was a nice complement with maroon, as well,” said chief communications officer Jennifer Edwards, who added that navy was a popular color suggestion from the beginning.

All of the elementary campuses within DSISD also have gold as the unifying color, so this would be a continuation of that strategy, Edwards said. Navy is considered to be a strong color, conveying authority, confidence, trust, intelligence and tradition: “I think it fits into our brand really nicely,” she said.

Trustee Dr. Stefani Reinold asked about the color white in the committee’s recommendation. While there will only be two colors that are officially named for the school, white can be included in the future brand package as a complementary or secondary color, Edwards clarified.

The board unanimously approved navy and gold as the official colors for Driftwood Springs High School, slated to open for the 2028-29 school year. The school’s mascot is expected to be approved this fall.

“I appreciate the community for giving us the extra time and I know that there are some members on this board that wishes we had an entire package, but this is still so exciting,” said trustee Tricia Quintero. “I know when I told my kiddos that will actually go to this new high school what the colors potentially could be, they were super excited about it. We've had a shirt actually at convocation with blue and gold and … it's one of my favorite shirts.”

Budget

The board also unanimously approved the 2026-27 budget, consisting of the general fund, debt service and child nutrition.

As presented by chief financial officer Randy Rau, the budget was based on several key assumptions, including a projected enrollment of 8,940 students, which is a large jump from the 6,008 in the 2016-17 school year, as well as the following:

– Average Daily Attendance: 95.25%

– Property tax collection rate: 99%

– 1% general pay increase, based on pay group midpoint

– District health contribution of $420 per employee per month — an increase from the previous $405

– Non-payroll inflation factor: 1%

The proposed general fund operating budget includes expenditures of $104,486,991, revenues of $102,327,356 and other uses/transfers of $176,000. This results in an overall deficit of $1,983,635 that complies with the board’s policy of a 2% budget parameter by $62,911.

“I want to point out our general fund expenditures by major object category. The biggest ticket item, for the most part, in our budget is payroll just at 80%, which is sitting good. Districts usually try to hit their payroll not more than 82-83% of [their] budget. The one thing we do have to take into consideration is our district is a recapture district and that's an [estimated] 4.55% of our total budget,” Rau said.

For debt service, revenues sit at $46,243,588 and expenditures at $42,832,288, resulting in an operating surplus of $3,411,300.

The final fund of the budget, child nutrition, reflects two separate operations, as suggested by the Texas Department of Agriculture, Rau explained.

The budget for the campuses — mainly the elementary schools — participating in the National School Lunch & Breakfast Program comprises $2,255,523 in revenue, $2,846,475 in expenditures and $590,952 in operating deficit. Secondly, the Self-Funded Meal Program at the secondary campuses has $2,508,179 in revenue, $2,538,640 in expenditures and $30,461 in operating deficit.

Trustee Kim Cousins shared that she is grateful to see that DSISD is not having to make some of the difficult decisions that other districts are.

“We just got back from state conference and we spent a lot of time talking to a lot of trustees and superintendents around the state; they are closing schools [and] they are canceling programs. Their fund balance is not very healthy,” she said. “It's really sad to see the things that are going on out there [but] we have not cut any programs; we are funding this district and our kids are having opportunities. Our enrollment is still growing. There's a lot of enrollment shrinkage throughout the state, which is affecting their budget.”

Currently, the district is looking at a proposed total $1.0610 tax rate, which consists of $0.7110 in maintenance and operations, as well as $0.3500 in interest and sinking.

Trustee Rob McClelland said that while the board is not adopting the tax rate until August or September, it does look like the proposed numbers show a decrease for the community.

To listen to the full meeting, and find the agenda with the full budget documents, visit www.dsisdtx.us/page/board-meeting-livestream.

Arrieta brings 15 years of head coaching experience in Texas, including the past five years as the head boys and girls wrestling coach at Pieper High School in San Antonio. During his tenure at Pieper, Arrieta built the girls wrestling program into a consistent State contender, stated a news release, and his teams recorded top-five State finishes in each of the last three seasons and earned five top-10 State finishes overall.

In recognition of his success, Arrieta was named the 2025 Girls Wrestling Coach of the Year by the Texas High School Coaches Association. He also earned three district coach of the year honors and two regional coaching awards during his career.

In addition to coaching, Arrieta will teach principles of audio/video production, audio/video production and animation I and II at DSHS.

Arrieta earned a bachelor’s degree in English and American Literature from the University of Texas at El Paso and a master’s degree in Instructional Technology from Full Sail University.

DI — a global community — inspires students to work together in teams to solve open-ended STEAM challenges designed to teach the “creative process,” which is a step-by-step process that helps the students better understand problems and ask better questions, come up with solutions, learn from failure and celebrate their achievements, according to its website. The ultimate goal is to help them feel empowered and prepare them for success in their future.

Locally, the DI program at Pfluger was started five years ago by Dr. Micaela Vargas — a professor in the Department of Biology at Texas State University with her own degrees in cell and molecular biology — and specials teacher Patricia Segura. Though the two are team managers, the program itself is led by the students.

Pfluger’s most recent team for the 2025-26 school year, named Flying Colors, consisted of seven students in the fourth and fifth grade. In order to be on the team, they were required to write a small paragraph on why they were interested in DI, as well as participate in tryouts, where they were paired with another student to see how well they could collaborate together to complete a building task or performance task.

“This year's team is very special because last year, we had three teams and when you have close to 20 kids that you have to manage, you got to make sure that they're following the rules and making sure they're on track,” Vargas said. “It is very, very hard on us. Last year was very challenging and so, we decided this year that we're only going to focus on one team. We had tryouts and we made sure that the team that we were going to build worked well together … and be able to read each other. This is one reason why this team is so special because four of the seven team members, this was their first year doing this program.”

The team has had recent success, securing second place at Capital Region Finals in February, sixth place at Lone Star Finals in April and then, making a name for itself as third-place winners out of 62 global teams at the Global Finals in May.

For the competitions, the DI teams first have to develop solutions to one of the six categories, of which, Pfluger chose technical, to showcase their months-long work in the team challenge. Utilizing the resources that she has as a professor at Texas State University, Vargas was able to have the campus’ chapter of IEEE — an international organization of electrical engineers — mentor the young team, which included her son as the primary tech, during their journey of developing a game show for the challenge.

“I would bring the kids on campus and have them work on campus on their engineering project and develop out their game show,” Vargas explained. “This wonderful collaboration has lasted [with the help of the IEEE] student group mentoring our kids and teaching them the basic techniques of electrical engineering and building out their challenge.”

The second component is an instant challenge, where teams have to think on their feet by solving an unknown, rapid-fire puzzle or engineering task on the spot.

“They'll do a building challenge where they'll lay out some general [STEAM] materials, like pipe cleaners, paper towel rolls, mailing labels, paper and index cards, and they will be asked to create something within five minutes and they're looking to see how quickly they can execute the challenge,” Segura said.

Although they placed well, the road to physically get to the Global Finals in Kansas City, Missouri, was not easy as the team managers, along with parents, had to do the legwork, due to struggles with securing funding with the school district — despite Pfluger being the first Title 1 elementary school in Hays CISD to reach this level.

“I believe in this program so much. We are advocates of this program. It’s not as big of a push in the district as it used to be when it first got started and, I think, after COVID, it kind of just dwindled down and now, we are losing a lot of funds in our school district,” explained Segura, who was involved in DI even before her time at Pfluger.

She added that DI is important because it lays down the foundation of early STEAM skills for students, as well as helps them navigate a passion for these, as they continue throughout middle and high school levels.

“I’ve seen them literally grow, have confidence in themselves, have a voice and be leaders within their team. I've had parents come up to me and basically tell us, ‘This is what you did for those kids,’” Vargas said, holding back tears. “This is so important and I really do believe in this program.”

Going into the next school year, the team will look a little different, as some of them are now moving on to the middle school level and won’t be competing with each other. However, Vargas and Segura are still looking to a bright future in advocating for the vitality of the DI program at Pfluger.

“These scientists and engineers are bringing the future and this is why I need these kids to challenge themselves because they are the future,” Vargas concluded.

To learn more about the global DI program, visit www.destinationimagination.org.

District administrators and school officials recognized the accomplishments of the graduating class as students closed one chapter of their lives and prepared to begin another.

Class valedictorian Sanvi Surpaneni and salutatorian Bella Rose delivered inspiring farewell addresses, reflecting on the memories, friendships and lessons learned during their years at DSHS, while also thanking teachers, parents and classmates for their support.

The Class of 2026 officers included president Bella Rose, vice president Kyle Kreuz, secretary Adeline Spies, treasurer Sophia Jones and historian Miller Cochran.

The ceremony also featured the official certification of graduates by Superintendent Dr. Holly Morris-Kuentz and Dripping Springs ISD board president Dr. Stefani Reinold.

Following the presentation of diplomas, graduates and attendees were treated to a fireworks display, provided by Half Off Fireworks, to celebrate the conclusion of the evening.

Several members of the DSHS Tiger baseball team were unable to attend the ceremony as they competed in the University Interscholastic League Class 6A Region IV Final playoff series at Calallen High School. The Tigers clinched the Region IV Championship Saturday, May 23, and will next face Memorial High School, the Region III champions, in the UIL State Semifinals.

This update follows Senate Bill 546, which passed during the state’s 89th Legislative Session and took effect Sept. 1, 2025. It requires all buses that a school district in Texas operates or contracts to be equipped with three-point seat belts, which include a strap over the shoulder to keep passengers from jolting forward during an accident.

The bill instructs districts to report their current bus inventory to the Texas Education Agency by May 29 of this year. Districts must also include a cost estimate for seat belt retrofitting, or adding additional features, in their reporting. All districts are required under SB 546 to reach full compliance by Sept. 1, 2029, with no exemptions.

Scharlach gave a brief overview of past seat belts standards in his presentation, stating, “Prior to 1977 — hard to believe — there were very little to no standards whatsoever on school buses for any safety protocols.”

That changed with the introduction of stricter safety standards by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 1977 and the subsequent development of lap belt requirements in some states during the 1980s.

“There had been accidents in which we had a number of students injured and unfortunately passed away because of the lack of safety standards,” said Scharlach, referring to school districts generally, not WISD.

The director of Transportation noted that past studies debated the efficacy of seat belts in preventing injuries, but those against seat belt functionality did not take into account accidents where a bus rolls completely over.

Scharlach stated that when a bus flips and turns, “It is safer for any passenger to stay within that seat. If you are not belted in, you will fly.”

In 2017, SB 693 addressed seat belt usage for the first time in Texas and required buses manufactured after 2018 to have three-point seat belts. However, school districts could still purchase or operate buses made before 2018 that did not have these safety measures. This allowed some districts to cut retrofitting costs and bypass SB 693.

Now, SB 546 sets tighter standards than any previous law, which Scharlach feels will be “pretty effective” in preventing injuries.

Currently, WISD has three buses in its 29-bus fleet that fall short of the new requirements. One bus — a 2010 model — has two-point seat belts and two buses — from 2007 — have no seat belts, according to Scharlach.

“Those three buses without the required seat belt will be sold via auction this summer. We’re going to try to get those sold in June but they are out of service,” Scharlach explained.

WISD also had two buses retrofitted with three-point seat belts and certified last December, amounting to $55,000, which Scharlach said was “well worth our money.” The four buses up for auction could not be retrofitted, due to their age.

“We are in good shape and we will have all our buses in compliance by next school year,” Scharlach closed.

The board of trustees had no questions following the director of Transportation’s presentation, though President Rob Campbell noted that he was “very impressed.”

The Wimberley ISD Board of Trustees will meet next at 6 p.m. Monday, June 15.

The Dripping Springs ISD Board of Trustees discussed the 2026-27 compensation plan, along with general pay increases that coincide, during its Monday, May 18, meeting. According to chief Human Resources officer Linda Hall, the compensation plan reflects a 0.5% increase to the minimum, midpoint and maximums, allowing DSISD to “stay competitive” with new hires coming in.

With last year’s Teacher Retention Allotment (TRA) — at $2,500 for teachers with three and four years of experience, as well as $5,000 for those with at least five years — it made a substantial increase to the teacher pay scale, Hall explained. Approximately 6-8% is what DSISD teachers saw for their increase last year; however, looking at that percentage compared to the administrative professional and other pay grades, they are not matching.

“What that does is we are now seeing some challenges when we have people who are coming off the teacher pay scale and want to move to the administrative professional scale; they are not increasing at the same rate,” Hall noted. “It’s a little bit of a challenge in that they may either … not see as much of an increase as they were hoping or they may not see an increase at all.”

DSISD is still doing everything it can to keep it competitive, said Hall: “It’s a fantastic thing to pay our teachers as much as we can. It’s just that we can not make that same incremental increase to the administrative professional scale.”

Trustee Dr. Mary Jane Hetrick shared that this issue has been recognized by other school districts across the state, as the superintendent with Lorena ISD, for example, has gone before the Texas House Committee on Public Education to speak on midsized school districts. Hetrick said that there are “exceptional teachers who would make exceptional interventionists [and] instructional specialists,” yet they are choosing not to for the reason of pay disparity.

Trustee Rob McClelland pointed out that there are other school districts in the surrounding area faced with difficult decisions, such as closing multiple campuses, the uncertainty of this year's budget and significantly reducing the size of their workforce.

Along with the 0.5% increase included in the compensation plan, the board unanimously approved a 1% general pay increase based on the midpoint for returning staff, including teachers, auxiliary, child nutrition, transportation, clerical/technical and administrative/professional.

The board also heard an updated presentation on the facility that would house the district’s special education and adult transition services 18+ program.

This follows an earlier presentation in March, in which the board was informed that the construction timeline, as it was at that time, was delayed and the team had to go back to the drawing board to determine cost-saving measures. The trustees opted to give direction to only have one General Maximum Price (GMP), rather than two.

Now, the construction documents schedule has been compressed to where they were completed May 8 to give Swinerton, construction manager at risk (CMAR), more time to go out to subtrades in the market to get the best possible pricing, explained Darrell Pearson of PBK Architects. This is also to ensure that the GMP will still be delivered, completed and presented to the school board in June.

Pearson continued, emphasizing that the team ensured that the educational spaces, functionality of the building and aesthetics remain as intended because those are non-negotiables.

“I do want people to understand that the programs and the spaces are what we want to hold onto and the functionality of the building because … there are [specific] needs that go on in this program and we need to make sure that we keep those in place,” said trustee Tricia Quintero.

However, Pearson said, there are cost reduction strategies that went into the site and building plans, which include:

•   Reducing parking and drives

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

•   Relocate building to avoid cut/fill

•   Remove/simplify utilities

•   Remove items that can be added later: outdoor yard and fencing, greenhouse, rainwater collection system, golf cart path/parking and reduce canopy system

•   Use wood frame construction

•   Simplify building foundation

•   Reduce height of building

•   Utilize all one roofing system

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

•   Utilize efficient finishes

•   Remove folding panel wall, which can be added later

Quintero said that the greenhouse is currently pulled from the project, but there is potential for alternative funding for that. She did question if the fencing, however, could be paid for out of the safety allotment.

Superintendent Dr. Holly Morris-Kuentz said that there could be potential for that, but it is a reimbursement, so the district would have to look at that and it depends on at what point if there are still grant funds available at that time.

The project is still expected to be complete by the end of the year. Ultimately, the board unanimously approved the revised construction documents.

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

The DSISD Board of Trustees meets next at 2 p.m. June 15 for its agenda review meeting.

SB 10 went into effect Sept. 1, 2025, following its passage in the 89th Texas Legislature. The bill requires school districts to display “in a conspicuous place” a 16 inch by 20 inch “durable poster or framed copy” of the Ten Commandments,” which reads as follows:

"The Ten Commandments

I AM the LORD thy God.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven images.

Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Thou shalt not kill.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s."

The posters, the bill continues, may be donated by community members for display purposes. They may also be purchased by the district, if no donations are received, but this is not a requirement.

According to Paxton, “The demands issued to these schools also require them to produce documents regarding the display or lack thereof of the Ten Commandments and their policies regarding SB 10.”

The investigation also detailed SB 11, which requires school boards to either adopt or deny a designated time for prayer. The DSISD Board of Trustees opted to deny adding the time unanimously at its Feb. 23, 2026, meeting.

“I will always fight for students’ fundamental right to pray in our schools and work to ensure that Texas kids are able to learn from the Ten Commandments daily,” added Paxton.

DSISD communications specialist Blake Barington stated that the district remains “in full compliance with the provisions of Senate Bill 10,” as the display is contingent on receipt of donated posters and none have been received.

The district did not send out any information regarding the bill or poster donations to parents, due to the injunction placed on the bill in the fall, noted Barington. Although no posters have been received, staff are not planning on purchasing any posters, as this is not required by law, he continued.

“Dripping Springs ISD has not heard from Ken Paxton's office. Once posters are donated by an organization, we will put them up, but none have been donated,” concluded the specialist.

To view the investigation notice, visit https://bit.ly/3RmSjHB. To learn about the details of SB 10, bit.ly/4nPVZOb.

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.