San Marcos High School Principal Michelle Darling announced on March 21 her plans to retire at the end of the 2013-14 school year, and the San Marcos CISD board of trustees has tapped her replacement. On June 9 the board of trustees approved Kelli Lopez as the new principal of the district's only high school. Lopez is a San Marcos High School class of '89 graduate. Before accepting the appointment as principal she served as an assistant principal at the school from 2012–2013. From January 2013 to June 2014, she served as an associate principal at Bastrop High School. She received her undergraduate degree from Schreiner University and master's in mathematics and educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin and Lamar University. "I will give you everything I've got," Lopez told the board. "I will give you all my heart and my soul, because that's what our kids deserve. Our kids deserve the best education that we can give them and nothing less." Darling had been with the high school since 2007 and helped transition the school to an academy model, whereby students take graduation tracks that are focused on specific fields, such as engineering mathematics, business and industry and arts and humanities. Lopez said she looked forward to working within the academy structure. "[The academy structure] is going to be the perfect avenue to really work at concentrating and focusing on getting our students college-, career-, workforce- and military-ready for post-secondary life," she said. Darling will assist with transitioning to the new administration through December 2014.