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 road to get to the Women’s Development Program National Championships, held May 8-10, was not an easy feat, as Bragg — who has been doing gymnastics since she was 4 years old — works out 28 hours a week, including Saturdays, and practices five hours a day, alongside her teammates. This consists of a combination of conditioning, stretches, drills, basic skills, technique work and more that goes from about 3 p.m. to the evening hours.

The scoring also comes into play, explained coach Carlos Arroyo, who has been at Moxie Gymnastics and Cheer in Dripping Springs, where Bragg trains, for six years. The competitors have to qualify for each level, beginning at earning at least a 34 all around for state and then, above a 34 for regionals. Once they get there, they need to be in the top seven out of seven states — Arkansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Kansas and New Mexico — to qualify for nationals.

“You're competing against the best of the best in our region,” Arroyo said.

Now being a level 10 gymnast, Bragg earned the opportunity to qualify for the first time to go to nationals, where she earned the following scores:

•   Vault: 9.650, 18th place

•   Uneven bars: 8.325, 49th place

•   Beam: 8.875, 43rd place

•   Floor: 9.500, 15th place

•   All around: 36.350, 42nd place

“It was a really great feeling, just knowing that all the work that I’ve put in all year, with all the hours I do, pay off and get to compete with the best in the nation,” the young gymnast said, adding that she has learned to cope with the challenges and nerves that come with being in front of the crowds that come with the competition.

“To make it national your first year is extremely difficult because you are going against girls that have competed level 10 for two to three years, sometimes longer. Those are the ones that usually rise up that make it to nationals,” Arroyo said. “Aubrey was phenomenal this year and was able to make it in as our state champ.”

The coach also explained that there are two different programs with the competition team at Moxie: compulsory, which has gymnasts levels three through five, competing in September through January, and optional for more advanced levels, competing in January through May.

The compulsory program did three regular season competitions, known as district qualifiers, as well as district and state championships. On the optional side, which is what Bragg competes in, there are six regular season competitions, plus state and regional championships, dependent on the gymnast’s level, and nationals.

Along with Bragg, Moxie has level 9 gymnasts Colette Hite and Reese Ray who qualified in the top six at the regional level and headed to Western Nationals. It was there that Hite secured third place and Ray earned 10th place all around. Coach Arroyo shared that they also have a level 8 gymnast that is an all-around champion who placed at regionals, making Moxie strong at every level.

“We've done a phenomenal job this year … We had a total of 15 girls compete in the championships this year, from state all the way up to nationals. With that, we've accumulated 58 medals. When I talk about medals, I'm talking about first place through third place podium medals and out of those 58, we have 20 gold medals and three all-around champions in optionals,” Arroyo said. “Including compulsory, we have had a total of six all-around champions between district championships, state championships and regionals.”

Now, the team is entering into its down period, where the gymnasts take the summer to learn skills and go back to the drawing board to see what needs to improve to get to the higher levels.

Arroyo also shared that Bragg is leading the way for colleges to begin the scouting process for potential scholarships. While they are not able to talk to her until June 15, based on National Collegiate Athletic Association rules, there are several colleges interested.

More information about Moxie Gymnastics and Cheer can be found at www.moxiegymandcheer.com.

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.

“You've got two women who are running the city. You've got a woman publisher of one of the local newspapers. You have a woman running the Dripping Springs school district,” she emphasized. “You have a woman who is overseeing the chamber of commerce. You have two women who … along with the Lions Club, oversee one of the city's most beloved events: Christmas on Mercer.”

Sullivan, who serves as the city’s People & Communications director, is also the face behind her company, The Happiness Element, which helps organizations and individuals find the joy in their life again. She also started a women’s retreat eight years ago, hosting them in Texas — with the first at Camp Lucy in Dripping Springs — New Mexico, Massachusetts and Florida.

Through hosting the retreats, Sullivan found that she wanted to do something more and uplift the women who give the community their all, thus creating the not-so-typical WOW Awards.

“I wanted to make this more fun, whimsical [and about] what women are,” she said. “I wanted to make them different, that still celebrated the women, but did it in a fun and uplifting and inspirational way because that's what the women are doing.”

Currently, according to The Happiness Element website, the awards are categorized as:

•   “The Pillar of Power Award” — for a woman whose leadership has created a lasting impact after she leaves the room and has lifted others as she rises

•   “The Watch Her Soar Award” — celebrates an emerging leader who is just getting started, but is already making waves and lighting the way forward

•   “The Ripple Effect Award” — recognizes a woman whose actions make a meaningful difference in the lives of others; she strengthens the heart of community through service, passion and purpose.

•   “The Hometown Heroine Award” — embodies the spirit, warmth and soul of Dripping Springs and is considered to be the heartbeat of the community

•   “The Fearless Founder Award” — forges her own path with courage and conviction, challenges the status quo, opens doors for others and shows what is possible

•   “The She Brings Us Together Award” — brings people together and builds meaningful relationships

•   “The Boss Lady Energy Award” — honors a woman business owner who leads with vision, resilience and heart

•   “The Adorable Badass Award” — boldly shows up as her authentic self and unapologetically powerful, is the perfect blend of heart and hustle, dances to live amid challenges and advocates for women with kindness, grace and joy.

Sullivan concluded that she also wanted to give back to the city of Dripping Springs, where she has lived and poured into for nearly 20 years.

“I just adore this community and I love the women that I have met. They are so amazing — from women with health issues that are still inspiring people, to the women who are working full-time jobs yet raising kids,” she said. “I wanted to do something to give back to Dripping Springs because it has given so much to me.”

Nominations for the WOW Awards will open at the end of May or early June, with finalized categories and requirements also expected by that time. The awards will be judged by an independent panel of women from outside of Dripping Springs and from the six nominees, three finalists and one winner will be selected in each category.

The awards will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27, at Canyonwood Ridge, located at 250 S. Canyonwood Drive, Dripping Springs, with lunch, a keynote speaker, artists showcase, marketplace and more in store.

Keep up-to-date on when the nominations are available and find more information at www.happinesselement.com/wow.

The process to review the rates — which have not been adjusted since 2022 — started in fiscal year 2025, when the city contracted with HDR to conduct a utility rate study. Then, in March, HDR presented the rate model and assumptions used to calculate the proposed rates to council, who asked the rates continue to be developed and reviewed, specifically on the fund balance, general fund and other revenue contributions.

In the most recent presentation to council May 7, deputy city administrator Shawn Cox shared the following six scenarios — all of which have different assumptions based on fund balance, general fund contribution, wastewater base fees and wastewater usage fees.

Scenario 1

•   Fund balance: 30 days (8.3%)

•   General fund contribution: $1,470,000

•   Wastewater base fee: $82.31 residential and commercial

•   Wastewater usage fee per 1,000 gallons: $7.09 residential; $7.90 commercial

Scenario 2

•   Fund balance: 30 days (8.3%)

•   General fund contribution: $1,225,000 (25% of sales tax)

•   Wastewater base fee: $75.09 residential; $76.53 commercial

•   Wastewater usage fee per 1,000 gallons: $7.09 residential; $8.10 commercial

Scenario 2.1

•   Fund balance: 30 days (8.3%)

•   General fund contribution: $1,225,000

•   Wastewater base fee: $59.20 residential; $90.11 commercial

•   Wastewater usage fee per 1,000 gallons: $8.30 residential; $8.51 commercial

Scenario 3

•   Fund balance: 30 days (8.3%)

•   General fund contribution: $980,000 (20% sales tax)

•   Wastewater base fee: $96.75 residential; $99.64 commercial

•   Wastewater usage fee per 1,000 gallons: $6.89 — residential;  $8.10 commercial

Scenario 4

•   Fund balance: 30 days (8.3%)

•   General fund contribution: $2,500,000 (FY 2026 = $1,520,000 more)

•   Wastewater base fee: $86.64 residential and commercial

•   Wastewater usage fee per 1,000 gallons: $7.09 residential; $8.10 commercial

Scenario 5

•   Fund balance: 30 days (8.3%)

•   General fund contribution: $2,000,000 (FY 2026 = $1,020,000 more)

•   Wastewater base fee: $86.64 residential; $94.44 commercial

•   Wastewater usage fee per 1,000 gallons: $7.09 residential; $8.10 commercial

On the commercial side, the wastewater usage is calculated through living unit equivalents (LUE). So, whatever the LUE number is what the city multiplies the base fee by, Cox explained.

“It is considered a multiplier because … you get an additional average for every LUE. So, if one LUE is equivalent to 6,450 gallons of wastewater, two LUEs would be double that,” he said. “You pay a base fee based on the number of LUEs that you've been provided.”

Currently, the rate for commercial users for three LUEs is $165.01, but proposed scenarios show that number could go up by nearly $300.

Council member Geoffrey Tahuahua shared his concern for the “sticker shock” that the rate increases are going to bring for both residents and businesses, knowing that the last adjustment was in 2022 — city staff also noted that another proposal was brought forward to council in 2020, but was ultimately not implemented, due to COVID-19.

“I recognize that, obviously, we have debt; we have to cover that debt service. It just seems that we sort of shot ourselves in the foot by not doing. We should have probably done the one in 2020 and we probably should have had incremental ones year over year,” he said. “Right now, let's say we do [scenario] 2.1 ... let's assume that we have a downtown business that has three LUEs; they're potentially looking at almost tripling their water bill just right out of the gate, using the same amount of water and, on a resident, you are doubling it.”

Later in the meeting, echoing others across the dais, council member Travis Crow said that they should not take a vote on the proposed rates until they fully understand everything.

“The more we do understand and can justify it when we are out there [in public], the better I feel about it,” Crow said. “We're going to have to do it as a city and make our decisions. That's why we're up here: to make the hard decisions that we don't want to make. But we have to justify it to the citizens why we did it and explain it to them and if we can't understand it, how can we explain it to a citizen out there?”

Mayor Bill Foulds also noted that in reviewing the scenarios, a new factor also needs to be entered in: delinquent bills.

“We have a subset of citizens that there is no way they could handle some of these proposals and especially when we get into [20]27 and 20[28]. Commercial businesses, what I'm hearing from downtown, we've got to make things as affordable as we can and we're going to lose more businesses if we try to do too much too early,” Foulds said. “That's what concerns me is protecting the people who don't show up and, quite honestly, the vast majority of our wastewater users are new home construction and are more double-income earners who will see their salaries change. A lot of those lower-income people, they're not going to see their salaries go up anywhere near at this rate and we've got to protect those people.”

There was not a vote on the proposed rates, but the item will be brought back at the next city council meeting, held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 19.

To listen to the full discussion and presentation, visit the city’s YouTube page at www.youtube.com/@cityofdrippingsprings9597.

Hill Country raised, Gillis entered the assisted living facility realm after spending six years caring for her husband’s grandmother. The director stated that, at the time, there weren’t any assisted living facility centers in Dripping Springs, so they moved his grandmother into a skilled nursing facility.

According to Texas Health and Human Services, a nursing facility “is a special facility or part of a hospital that provides medically necessary professional services from nurses, physical and occupational therapist, speech pathologists and audiologist,” while assisted living facilities “provide individualized health and personal care assistance in a homelike setting, with an emphasis on personal dignity, autonomy, independence and privacy.”

So, in 2015, Gillis purchased 10 acres in Dripping Springs to open up Lavender Springs in 2017.

Lavender Springs is a Type B — where residents need assistance in an emergency — assisted living facility, said manager Elizabeth Simpson, which has 24/7 staff members and focuses on more than medication management.

“We provide medication management, incontinence care, shower assistance, three meals a day — with snacks in between — activities [and] workout plans. We help with providing doctors visits in the facility, so we work closely with an Austin geriatric specialist who comes in once a week and we meet with them about the residents on their lists,” explained Simpson.

Simpson continued to emphasize that assisted living centers allow residents to receive the care that may not be available in bigger communities. They’re able to have specialized and individualized plans to help them live comfortably.

Additionally, Gillis shared that families benefit alongside the residents.

“The kids get to be the kids again and somebody else does all the care. So, just as an example, my dad — because he’s still opting to stay at home — I feel like I’m the caregiver. I’m having to go over there and do his meds, set things up for him. I don’t go over there and just visit or have a meal with him because I have to do a lot for him,” shared Gillis. “[So, the facility] is really nice for the children. Those are probably the people that are most grateful when they move their parents in with us.”

The families can visit for barbecues, to get their nails done, take their parents out for coffee and more, added Simpson.

Being in the assisted living facility industry, both Simpson and Gillis had heard of Symphony of Wimberley before the news of its shutdown was revealed. As previously reported by the News-Dispatch, the Wimberly facility lost its license in November 2025, following concerns of resident wellbeing and safety.

Gillis noted that because Lavender Springs doesn’t provide memory care, residents used to be referred to Symphony of Wimberley, prior to the aforementioned concerns. Then, they began receiving residents that wanted to transfer from the facility to Lavender Springs.

After the closure, Gillis began looking at the Wimberley property right away, since she initially had plans to build another Dripping Springs facility, but halted plans, due to price increases. Although the plans for expansion in its home city are still on the horizon, the director knew that she wanted to purchase the former home of Symphony of Wimberley.

“We knew the demand for great care was definitely there. There’s a huge demand and we’ve had several families from the Wimberley area come all the way to Dripping Springs for that care, so we wanted to make sure that the next location could also still serve Hays County and the Hill Country,” said Gillis.

With an opening date of early June, the facility will now be known as Wildflower Springs and will soon be managed by Simpson, who will move to the new location. It will also still provide memory care services.

There will initially be six beds available, due to state regulations, said Simpson, but eventually all 16 will open up.

“[We were] heartbroken about the previous owners, but we really want to earn our respect and just be a productive member of their community and provide an excellent service for their loved ones. That’s important for us,” Gillis said.

Simpson added that Gillis is both the director and operator, “with a good, long-standing reputation,” which is rare in this industry.

Community members interested in learning more can attend an open house from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, May 12, at Wildflower Springs, 501 FM 3237, Wimberley.

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.

Deep Eddy first introduced its product in Austin back in 2010, naming it after the city's beloved swimming hole, a local place known for lively crowds and laid-back fun. According to the company, it took all of its favorites from its hometown — “sunshine, stellar vibes and ample excuses to get together with friends” — and bottled it up into a family of real vodkas with real ingredients.

The brand moved out to Dripping Springs in 2014 as a combined production and tasting room facility, before transitioning the distillery to Buda in 2017, when Deep Eddy was outgrowing the space. Then, the larger, current, building in Dripping Springs opened in 2019 and has operated as a tasting room ever since.

Now, Deep Eddy announced to the community April 2 that it’s made a decision to take the Dripping Springs tasting room into a new chapter by bringing the experience closer to Austin.

The company is approaching the end of its lease and, with Goodnight Loving Vodka looking to expand, Deep Eddy chose to accept the request for them to sub-lease.

“Austin was such a different place when we moved out here in 2014. There were no distilleries within the city limits. There were barely any breweries within the city limits back then,” said Eustacio Lara, sales and marketing manager for the Deep Eddy Vodka Tasting Room. “The climate shift in Austin over the years kind of has become a much more favorable place for us. So, we're gonna take our chance at the big city.”

As Deep Eddy has been rooted in Dripping Springs for several years, Lara shared that while the space is going away, their support of the community is not. He also shared that he foresees Goodnight Loving — a local distillery, born and raised in the Hill Country — being a part of its new community, as well.

The tasting room will officially close June 13 with a goal to officially transition over to the new tenants by Aug. 1. However, customers are invited to a week-long closing celebration to help send off Deep Eddy in high spirits the week of May 16, with live music, passport scavenger hunt, giveaways and more.

“Thanks to everyone who has come out over the years, shared a story about Deep Eddy, shared a story about an event they may have held here a wedding or rehearsal dinner or have come out and supported our events — our vendor markets [or] our 10-year anniversary,” Lara said. “Everything that we've done has always received such love from the community and we know that's not lost on us and we really appreciate the support that we've felt over the years.”

Stay up-to-date on Deep Eddy Vodka’s closing celebration and new venture to Austin by following the brand on Facebook at www.facebook.com/deepeddyvodkatastingroom.

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

Crow will be returning to the Place 4 seat, according to unofficial results, after receiving 183 votes, or 55.63%, while challenger Mitch Royer received 146 votes, or 44.38%.

Crow has resided in Dripping Springs for 46 years, according to his candidate application, and has served on council for eight years and the Dripping Springs Water Supply Corp. Board of Directors for nine years. His focus is on community-driven leadership and supporting local growth, as stated on his campaign website.

Husted secured the Place 2 seat, with 196 votes, or 57.65%, while incumbent Wade King garnered 144 votes, or 42.35%.

“I am incredibly honored and grateful to have earned the trust of the voters of Dripping Springs. This campaign has always been about our community, our shared values and a vision for a city that grows thoughtfully, while preserving what makes it so special,” Husted said as part of an online statement following the election.

Husted has served as senior policy advisor for city council member Geoffrey Tahuahua, according to her campaign website. She noted that this role has allowed her to work closely with city and regional leaders, tackling challenges related to infrastructure, growth and government transparency.

She has a focus on the following: making city services more efficient and transparent; managing growth with clear priorities, smart planning and fiscal responsibility; improving roads, utilities and public safety to meet the needs of a growing community; and listening to residents and leading with integrity.

“I’m ready to get to work. The opportunities ahead of us are significant and so are the challenges. I look forward to working with my fellow council members, city staff and our regional partners to ensure we are making smart, responsible decisions on growth, infrastructure and quality of life,” Husted said. “Our future depends on collaboration, transparency and a commitment to doing what’s right for the long term.”

Along with thanking the voters, Husted also shared gratitude for her family and friends who supported her along the way.

Crow could not be reached for comment prior to publication.

All results will remain unofficial until canvassed and certified. To learn more about the election, visit www.drippingspringstx.gov/2026-city-elections or www.hayscountytx.gov/departments/elections/current-elections for voting results.

This new mobile outreach vehicle was made possible through community donations, support from Hays County and a grant from the Dripping Springs Community Foundation, according to a library news release. This exciting addition will expand access to library services across the growing community.

The journey to bring the Library on Wheels home was an adventure, with members of the library team traveling to Maryland to acquire the vehicle and driving it back to Texas. Local graphic designer Cathy Richardson created the design that is wrapped around the mobile library.

Created to help overcome transportation and access barriers, the Library on Wheels will connect families, seniors, students and lifelong learners to books, technology and meaningful library services, the release continued. As fundraising continues for a new library building, the bookmobile offers an immediate and innovative way to meet community needs.

Beginning in June, the Library on Wheels will hit the road, bringing books, programs and resources directly to residents throughout the 110-square-mile service area, with a full schedule of stops to be published soon at www.dscl.org.

The vehicle will have its permanent home at the Dripping Springs Community Library, located at 501 Sportsplex Drive.

The nonprofit began after a local decorated veteran died by suicide, said Melody Burns, treasurer of the Fireside Chat Support Network.

“Our founder and president and several others felt like there was an important need to do something about the suicide rate and [to] reach out to the veterans and first responders to help them deal with their [post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)] and the stresses from their lives,” explained Burns.

Since then, the support network has hosted weekly fireside chats at 12 Fox Beer Co. in Dripping Springs, where veterans can participate in a peer-led discussion.

This event has been helpful for many, said Burns, but she also noted that alternative therapies have been used to treat PTSD, such as sound, light, vibration, yoga and more. So, when Burns, who is also a beekeeper, discovered bee therapy, she knew it was something she wanted to begin implementing.

Though not widely popular in the United States, she explained that it has been used in Europe through air inhalation and beekeeping, which provides something to look forward to, while using a calm attitude and precision to tend to the bees. Organizations, such as Hives to Heroes, have implemented some of these practices, but Burns wants to focus on inhalation of bee air in her sessions.

“The buzzing of the bees, the vibration of the bees and the breathing of the bee air — the propolis infused air — that is around the beehives in Europe, those things are used for alternative healings and the thought is that the frequencies are calming and help to induce relaxation and will help the veterans and first responders sleep better,” Burns said.

There are companies in the United Kingdom that can ship out facilities for this, she said, but the cost has instead led her to create her own.

Funded through donations, the sauna-like building will have windows to prevent claustrophobia, a ramp for wheelchair accessibility and be large enough to house two benches, which will be filled with bees.

The therapy will be primarily for veterans and first responders, with availability by 30-minute slots, but may be opened to the public for a donation. Because towels are needed to lay on the bench, they can be purchased for a small price, if the individual doesn’t bring their own.

The facility is currently under construction, with an expected completion in May. After, the Fireside Chat Network Support will announce details on its Facebook, which can be found at bit.ly/48oihAd, for the opening at a later date.

In 2020, approximately 300 acres for the park were donated to the city and then, the district applied for permits for Wildwood Springs Elementary School in 2024. Around that time, the city had identified the district’s property as the most logical access point to Rathgeber, leading to conversations with the district on coordination for realignment of access, according to city of Dripping Springs planning director Tory Carpenter.

The first interlocal agreement — initially presented at the Tuesday, April 21, Dripping Springs City Council meeting — is for the road and easement.

Phase 1 of the road has already been constructed by DSISD as primarily bus or delivery access, but not the main entrance, and it was designed to allow for further extension to the north to Rathgeber, which is identified as Phase 2 that will be constructed by the city.

With the ILA, the city would be able to construct a public road, including utility extension, drainage, sidewalks and lighting. The main restriction is prohibited parking in the area, primarily because of safety and access issues related to the school.

“The goal and the main outcome of this is the school district granting an easement, most likely classified as a right-of-way easement, that would function for all intents and purposes as city right-of-way for purposes of accessing Rathgeber [Natural Resource] Park,” Carpenter explained. “The benefit of doing it as an easement is the city can outline specific terms of any restrictions or any concerns or considerations that may be tied with that area.”

The exact boundary of the easement will be determined after the schematic design of Phase 2, Carpenter said, as well as another exhibit — known as form of easement — with specific terms of the ILA embedded into the easement document that will be inserted at a later date.

“I know the boundaries of the easement aren’t exact yet. The road is also not set in stone on that curvature. We’ve got to wait and see,” said Mayor Bill Foulds. “The [topography] right there is pretty difficult and the district was concerned … and wanted to make sure we would be able to move the road if we needed to, so that road may deviate a little bit, just like the easement.”

Council member Taline Manassian asked if there would still be an ILA if an agreement is not made on the location of the road, questioning the exhibit, or form of easement, that Carpenter mentioned.

Deputy city attorney Laura Mueller said that her recommendation would be to leave out the form of the easement in the ILA, adding that council can direct staff to finalize it in consultation with the city attorney and administrator.

Another option would be if the district does not follow the terms by providing the easement within six months, then the other ILA would either terminate automatically or by council action, Mueller and Carpenter explained.

The second ILA is related to the development and regulations. What led to this was council's approval of a tree removal waiver Jan. 20, contingent on the adoption of an ILA between the district and city by May 1. Then, at its next meeting, council approved a delay in the payment of site development permit fees until May 20.

According to Carpenter, the five-year agreement does the following: establishes development standards for school facilities; establishes review timelines and process; addresses trees, lighting and signage; defines fees and cost responsibilities; and applies to all projects in the city limits and extraterritorial jurisdiction.

A component of the ILA is base fees — everything written into the city’s fee schedule that is tied with acreage, square footage or some metric — are waived. However, the district would need to pay third-party review costs plus 20%, Carpenter explained.

The planning director continued that, consistent with a lot of other jurisdictions, heritage trees are defined as from 18 inches in diameter to 24 inches. Mitigation for these would be reduced from a 3:1 ratio to a 1:1, with a fee in lieu decreasing from $450 per inch to $150 per inch.

“If their fee in lieu exceeds up to $10,000 by the calculation, there would be a cap on that. We ran some assumptions and it would really have to be a pretty tough situation, a heavily treed site, for that to be the case,” Carpenter said. “The district made it clear that they really don't want to have to pay $10,000 an acre. That’s a worse case scenario.”

Negotiations also found alternative mitigation options — something that is not currently written in the city’s code — which include rainwater and condensate reuse, as well as drought-adapted landscaping.

Following executive session on both items, council approved both ILAs in two separate 3-2 votes, with Manassian and council member Travis Crow dissenting and Foulds acting as the tie breaker, as council member Sherrie Parks was absent from the meeting.

After council’s discussion, the DSISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved both ILAs with the city of Dripping Springs at its Monday, April 27, meeting.

“This body has strived, as the city's and Hays County’s largest builder and landowner projects, to have a, basically, for a lack of a better term, development agreement with the municipality that has a large ETJ that most of our schools reside within,” said trustee Rob McClelland, who motioned for the approval of both of the agreements.

“It's huge for our district. It's huge for our taxpayers. It's huge for our city council. It's amazing for us — two government entities — to be working so closely together and making sure that our community is in the forefront of the conversation,” shared trustee Tricia Quintero. “It's not about us or them and I appreciate all the city council members who agree with the agreement and I hope that the ones that didn't necessarily agree with the agreements can come alongside us and move forward together in the future.”

The public can access recordings of the city council meetings at drippingsprings-tx.municodemeetings.com, as well as the school board meetings at www.dsisdtx.us/page/board-meeting-livestream.

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.

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 follows discussions amongst the Founders Day Committee on the allocation of vendor booths to political parties and candidates because of increased demand, but limited supply, leading city staff to do a legal review and draft a policy.

The purpose of the policy is to deal with the severely limited vendor booth space and demand from political candidates, in particular, said city attorney Aniz Alani, as that heavily outnumbers the spaces the city can accommodate. He noted that this year, there are approximately 23 applicants on the waiting list for vendor booths.

“Historically, there have been some political type [of], we’ll call them, vendors, using the vendor booths, but this year, for whatever reason, there are just more than supply allows,” he said. “So, the goals of this policy are to provide an orderly way of having clear rules and ultimately, having a fair allocation that distributes the limited event space in a neutral manner.”

This policy is limited solely to the 2026 Founders Day Festival and is not intended to carve in stone a policy for anything after this year’s event, Alani emphasized. However, council could request that staff look into extending or creating a policy that applies to other or future festivals.

It applies to vendor booths, political expression during the parade by approved and registered participants and conduct by city officials and representatives attending in an official capacity.

The policy proposes a limit on political expression vendor booths to no more than two booths, exclusively to qualified political party organizations — this means that no booths would be approved for any individual political candidates, political action committees, ideological advocacy groups, etc., said Alani.

“Essentially, the idea is that you can’t commandeer a political party’s booth to functionally be a candidate booth, but political candidates can participate, obviously, with the political party’s consent as part of their political booth,” he explained.

If more than two qualified political party organizations apply, available political expression booth spaces shall be allocated by lottery conducted by the city after the application deadline. However, that is a “moot point,” said Alani, as the deadline has already passed and there were not more than two applications.

Additionally, the application deadline has also passed for the parade, Alani said. He noted that only the candidates and parties who are registered would be allowed to engage in political expression in the parade.

As for the individuals who are attending the festival in an official capacity — such as city council members or elected leaders in other levels of government — there is an on and off toggle switch. This is for acting in an official capacity or as a private citizen.

“The way the policy is written, you are acting in an official capacity when you are representing the city and basically, you are using your position as an elected official or city official to have some enhanced platform that private citizens don’t have. That might be marching as part of a more official delegation in front of the parade … wearing official insignia,” Alani said. “At all other times, those folks are acting as a private citizen and they can do kind of as they would as any other private citizen can under the festival rules.”

Council member Sherrie Parks questioned if it is necessary for the city to move forward with this policy for this year, since the deadlines have passed for booth and parade applications.

“My understanding is because there are essentially one [or] two political candidates who have applied and would be registered in the parade and no one has told us that they would be wanting to attend in an official capacity in the parade. Strictly speaking, no, and that assumes that no one shows up or tries to insert themselves in an official capacity at the parade,” Alani responded.

The city attorney added that if someone were to try to insert themselves in an official capacity at the parade, the city could refer to the policy, saying they can not campaign in an official capacity because council approved such policy or appeal to their sense of common decency.

There are rules in place that registration and attending the parade meetings is required in order to participate, Parks said: “So, if some official last minute decided to call and say, ‘I want to be in the parade,’ based on those two things, they should be denied.”

Another council member, Geoffrey Tahuahua, agreed that the festival is coming up soon and the existing policy does give some reasonable wiggle room.

He shared that he has attended Founders Day consistently for the last four years and has worn campaign shirts, participating in political expression, while also being asked questions related to his official duties as a city council member. However, he noted his concern of changing the rules less than 20 days out.

“There needs to be a larger look overall at how we handle the processes and yes, maybe political is a part of that in some extent, but it’s maybe 8% or 10% of the conversation. Whereas, I really do think the bigger issue is how we look at it overall because I can tell you today, I don’t think vendor booths in general are being assigned fairly,” Tahuahua stated.

Mayor Bill Foulds asked for clarification if a council member wearing a city of Dripping Springs logo in violation. It is in violation, only if they are doing so while campaigning, Alani responded.

Further along in the discussion, council member Travis Crow shared that it feels like a lot to consider for one meeting and that this should have been on the agenda four or five months ago.

“To do this right, I don’t want to put a Band-Aid on it; instead of missing out on some information ... have the [Founders Day] Committee look at it, report back to us, give us recommendations and we go from there,” Crow said. “This is a lot, I think, for us to process on the dais tonight.”

The Founders Day Committee has looked at this draft policy twice and provided recommendations, the mayor clarified, but Crow said that he would have liked to have had the chance for council to provide its own feedback, as well.

It’s a good idea to figure out a standard way to address the limited number of booths that are available, council member Taline Manassian said, while also acknowledging that there could be an argument made to let Founders Day be a community event to take some steps to “depoliticize the activity there.”

Ultimately, council voted 4-1, with Tahuahua dissenting, to approve the policy.

The full discussion of the meeting can be found at the city of Dripping Springs’ YouTube page at www.youtube.com/@cityofdrippingsprings9597.

The high school, which has not yet been named, will be built next to Cypress Springs Elementary School. According to the DSISD, it will serve 2,500 students in the eastern portion of the district.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2028 for a fall opening. For more information and to stay updated on progress, visit www.dsisdtx.us/highschool2.

Council approved entering into a solid waste services agreement with TDS at its June 17, 2025, meeting, after the city had been using Waste Connections Lone Star since 2017, when it acquired Vaquero Waste and Recycling, and was selected again in 2020. In accordance with the agreement, TDS notified the city of a proposed annual rate increase in March 2026.

“TDS is allowed to ask for a rate increase. They will base it off a certain portion of the Consumer Price Index and they are allowed to come to us each year and ask for it,” said deputy city administrator Shawn Cox. “As long as it is not an unjust or unreasonable ask, council should accept it.”

Council member Travis Crow asked if council chooses to do the rate increase, when would be the earliest that TDS could request for another one.

Based on the Consumer Price Index, they would be allowed to ask annually around July — as that is when the initial agreement went into effect — but there may be some years that they don’t come back with another proposal if that doesn’t change, Cox explained.

“I just didn’t know with fuel surcharges, fuel going up. I get my fuel surcharges for the stuff I buy on a weekly basis, so I just didn’t know,” Crow said. “Hopefully, fuel will go down, but if it doesn’t, then I know that is a big burden that y’all are having to take into account.”

The proposed increase on the residential trash and recycling trash services is as follows:

•   96-gallon trash (weekly): Current rate at $14.80 with a proposed rate of $15.54

•   96-gallon recycling (weekly): Current rate at $6.75 with a proposed rate of $7.09

The total bill for customers, if they choose to use the optional recycling service, would be $22.63 with the proposed rate increase.

The item was placed on the regular agenda, but Cox noted that it would be up to council’s discretion if it would be placed on the consent agenda portion going forward.

Council member Geoffrey Tahuahua said that it’s helpful to have it on the business agenda in case council has any further discussion or questions.

Mayor Bill Foulds shared that “as mayor, I would never put the agenda out there with it on consent” because of transparency reasons.

The rate increase was unanimously approved.

TDS and the city will reach out to customers to notify them of the new rates, which will go into effect July 1.

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.