Rodriguez Elementary School is now open and will be ready for San Marcos CISD students for the 2019-20 school year. More than 100 people—including parents, students and staff—attended a ribbon cutting ceremony at the new campus, located 1481 Esplanade Pkwy., on Aug. 21. As part of the event, the district hosted tours and teacher-parent meetings, in addition to offering snow cones for students. Superintendent Michael Cardona thanked the Rodriguez family, the namesake of the new school, as well as those who helped the district pass a $107 million bond in 2017 that funded the construction of the new school. “Really, the entire district came together to put this building together so I want to thank them,” Cardona told attendees. The superintendent also recognized the staff that will be working at the new campus, and expressed his gratitude for the elected officials and local organizations, such as the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce and the Greater San Marcos Partnership, for their support in passing the 2017 bond. Kash Greathouse, who has been a teacher and an assistant principal in the district, will be the first principal of the new school. After the ribbon cutting, Cardona said that he was pleased with attendance at the event, and added that it could contribute to a strong start to the school year. “I think it wound up being fortuitous,” Cardona said. “It allowed for some symmetry and transition.” The name for Rodriguez Elementary was chosen from a list of recommendations drawn up by the naming committee. Velia R. Cavazos, Carlos Rodriguez and Solia Rodriguez were all among the recommendations. Though the board originally decided to name the school after only Solia Rodriguez, in May 2018 it voted  to dedicate the school to all three individuals, as they were part of the same family. In April 2018, Community Impact Newspaper reported that a member of the Rodriguez family had requested parts of the campus be named after Cavazos as well as Carlos Rodriguez. As of June 31, the district had spent about $19.64 million—out of $30.5 million that had been budgeted—to build the new school. School district officials have estimated that the final cost of the school will be approximately $26.2 million.