After a June vote to cap San Marcos CISD class sizes at 22 students the district's board of trustees was faced with a dilemma of how to handle record student enrollment, but trustees reaffirmed their decision at a meeting Aug. 31.
Classes in De Zavala and Travis elementary schools were above the 22-student cap, forcing the board to decide whether to hire more teachers, transfer some students out of those schools to less crowded ones or apply for waivers through the state that would allow them to exceed the state-mandated cap.
Trustee John McGlothlin said he and trustees Miguel Arredondo and Anne Halsey heard a lot about class sizes from teachers and parents when they were campaigning, and he is proud they were able to address that concern.
“I think we made a positive step forward as a board [when we approved the cap in June], and I’m not interested in seeing us go backwards on it,” McGlothlin said.
The district has hired 10 new teachers—at a total estimated cost of $560,000—to accommodate the 22-student cap.
“I think we made a positive step forward as a board [when we approved the cap in June], and I’m not interested in seeing us go backwards on it."
— San Marcos CISD Trustee John McGlothlin
Contributing to the crowding at some campuses is the district’s transfer policy, which allows parents to apply for a waiver allowing their child to attend a school outside of their attendance zone. The district redrew attendance zone boundaries this year but allowed students in fourth grade going into fifth grade and in seventh grade going into eighth grade to remain at their campuses.
“The hardline for next year could easily be, ‘There are no transfers allowed, and you go to the school within your attendance zone,’” Eads said.
The discussion also turned to the potential need for a new bond to relieve crowding at some of the campuses. The district passed a bond in 2013 that included funds for new athletic facilities, upgrades at some campuses and construction of Bonham Pre-Kindergarten School, which relieved some crowding at Hernandez Elementary School.
More students could be on the way to the district as well. Assistant Superintendent Lolly Guerra said the district’s enrollment typically peaks in October.
The district may also consider using portable buildings to address the crowding.
“With record enrollment now there’s this looming conversation down the road, like it was mentioned in our public forum, it looks like we might have to open up another school somewhere,” Arredondo said.
Budget
The district also approved a budget Aug. 31 that could require about $2 million to be transferred from the district's fund balance, which has about $28.33 million in it. The district expects that average classroom attendance, which helps determine the amount of funding the district receives from the state, could be high enough this year that a transfer from fund balance will not be necessary.
The tax rate for fiscal year 2016 was also set at $1.4141 per $100 of property valuation. That is the same rate as last year, but because of increases in property values throughout SMCISD, the rate is expected to yield more money for the district this year.
