San Marcos CISD received an C accountability rating for the 2024-2025 school year, with Bowie Elementary School being the only campus below a C rating. (Community Impact staff)
From STAAR scores to campus improvements and more, check out the top 10 San Marcos CISD stories of the year.
San Marcos CISD will see increased enrollment in the next 10 years, but the numbers will depend on new developments and other school options, experts said.
The projected increases come despite the district facing a shorter-term enrollment decline starting in 2023, students transferring out and other factors impacting enrollment.
The current situation
District enrollment sat at 8,222 students in fall 2024, down around 100 students or about 1.5% from fall 2023, said Brent Alexander, School Design Strategies director of demographic research, during a board presentation May 19.
School district officials in Hays County have adopted their district budgets for fiscal year 2025-26, following monthslong discussions on how to manage funds.
Many school districts adjusted staffing through attrition or position elimination, and have faced periods of budget shortfall.
District officials in Hays County, including Dripping Springs ISD, Hays CISD and San Marcos CISD, are expecting more amendments, particularly for staff raises, to come later this summer following education legislation from the 89th Texas Legislature.
See how local districts are preparing for the upcoming fiscal year.
San Marcos CISD trustees, the superintendent staff and other construction officials held a groundbreaking ceremony May 15 to kick off the 2023 bond project for a new Mendez Elementary campus building. (Courtesy San Marcos CISD)
Construction for a new Mendez Elementary campus building is underway, following a groundbreaking ceremony May 15.
The details
The new San Marcos CISD campus building is expected to be completed June 2026 in order to open for the August 2026-27 school year, as previously reported by Community Impact.
Demolition of the old Mendez building would begin in the summer of 2026 and be completed by November 2026.
San Marcos CISD received a C rating in overall performance for the 2024-25 school year, scoring 76 of 100 possible points in the Texas Education Agency’s 2024-25 accountability ratings released Aug. 15.
In addition to overall improvement, the district showed year-over-year gains across its various campuses.
The breakdown
Ratings are calculated based on TEA standards for three performance categories, including student achievement, school progress and closing the gaps—which measures how school districts tackle performance disparities among varying student groups.
List of eliminated positions at San Marcos CISD. (Courtesy San Marcos CISD)
San Marcos CISD officials adopted the district’s $88 million general fund budget at a board meeting June 16, but are anticipating an over $6.5 million shortfall.
The district’s budget comes with already-made operational changes, from staffing to student schedules for the upcoming school year.
The overview
The board of trustees voted 6-1 to adopt the budget including $88,058,849 from combined state, local and federal revenues, or income. The district anticipates $94,648,852 in expenditures.
Expenditures include costs for instruction, curriculum and staff development, guidance and counseling, general administration and more.
San Marcos CISD students showed some improvements in most subjects on the 2025 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, test, but are still falling behind state averages, according to results released June 17.
The breakdown
The STAAR test is given to third through 12th grade students to measure student progress and teacher performance.
Students can receive scores of “did not meet grade level.” “approaches grade level,” “meets grade level,” or “masters grade level” for each subject. Students who score “approaches grade level” and above pass the test. Those who score “meets grade level” or above are considered proficient, as previously reported by Community Impact.
San Marcos CISD received a "D" rating in overall performance for the 2022-23 school year, scoring 64 out of 100 possible points in the Texas Education Agency’s 2022-23 school accountability ratings.
The "D" rating indicated a performance that needs improvement due to “serving too few students well,” according to the Texas Education Agency.
The 2022-23 ratings were released in April following a state court decision allowing for the publication of the scores. The scores were previously on hold for release due to a two-year lawsuit of over 100 Texas school districts voicing concern that the rating methodology, which was changed mid-year, was “unlawful,” as previously reported by Community Impact.
San Marcos CISD held a ribbon cutting ceremony May 19 to commemorate the opening of the district's new administrative building, which will house offices and the School Fuel nonprofit. (Courtesy San Marcos CISD)
San Marcos CISD community members celebrated the opening of the new district administration building with a ribbon cutting ceremony May 19.
The details
The new Felipe Reyna Administration building includes various administrative offices and a multipurpose boardroom for meetings and training sessions. The building also houses School Fuel, a nonprofit organization that provides food to eligible students.
The ribbon cutting marks the completion of a $7 million project for construction of the 26,000 square-foot office building.
Improvements at San Marcos High School will be underway in June as part of a 2023 bond project.
The project, which district officials said will come in under budget, will include three phases of renovations, starting with more parking and a band practice pad.
The cost
San Marcos CISD trustees unanimously approved a $4.8 million guaranteed maximum price, or GMP, for phase one at a March 17 meeting, as previously reported by Community Impact. The adopted GMP for that phase came in under budget, district staff said.
