JANUARY: New county commissioner maps draws criticism as state and congressional representation also shifts in Hays County
A new electoral map is set for the next decade, splitting San Marcos, Buda and Kyle along significantly different commissioner precinct boundaries than the prior map following the results of the 2020 census.
The Hays County Commissioners Court voted 3-2 on Nov. 9 approving the new map. Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe and Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra voted against the new maps that split San Marcos two ways instead of three.
FEBRUARY: Local counts of children in foster care remain steady while declining statewide
A year before the COVID-19 pandemic stopped the world in its tracks, the number of children in foster care in Texas was 16,712, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
Pandemic-related circumstances-such as children being out of school and out of sight-lead the number of children in foster care to decrease by more than 3,600 over three years.
MARCH: Lone county animal shelter navigates frequent overcapacity
The name of the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter belies the fact that it is the only publicly run intake shelter in Hays County, where its stated goal of a greater than 90% live outcome rate becomes more and more difficult as the population of Hays County grows rapidly.
The amount of cats and dogs that become lost, surrendered or abandoned in the community goes up along with that human population growth, creating a strain on its ability to house those animals, according to City of San Marcos Animal Services.
APRIL: Hays CISD grapples with teacher, staff shortages
When Parker Mayland was a child, all he wanted to be was a teacher, he said.
He would come home from school, set up a makeshift classroom in his living room and go over what he learned that day with his grandmother. However, recent staffing shortages and subsequent stressors felt by teachers—such as those he saw firsthand through his experience as a student teacher—have deterred him from pursuing a career in education.
MAY: Hays County grapples with high rate of inmate transfers
Originally slated for completion in spring 2021, supply chain backlogs and other issues delayed completion of the Hays County Jail expansion to summer 2022.
Despite an increase in capacity from 332 to 603 beds after completion, the county will likely need to continue transfers to other county jails across the state as rapid population growth in the county—as well as population increases along the I-35 corridor—exceeded expectations of the number of inmates the jail would need to accommodate.
JUNE: Post-pandemic mental health issues rise in youth
With the onset of the pandemic more than two years in the rear-view mirror, Anne Esquivel, president and founder of San Antonio-based children’s counseling practice Mind Works, said the lasting effects of it all are still being felt to this day.
“In a functional family, a lot of them just became closer through the pandemic,” Esquivel said. “However, for other families where there’s domestic violence, child abuse, drug and alcohol issues, now those kids didn’t have any escape from that.”
Direct pay for mental health care eclipses insurance payments
For patients seeking access to mental health care and counseling, the burden of getting the cost covered can prove daunting.
According to the American Psychological Association, 30% of psychologists do not accept insurance, requiring the patient to petition their insurance provider to pay them back all or at least a portion of what they paid out of pocket for care. As many independent practitioners do not hire office staff, many forgo dealing with insurance claims altogether.
JULY: Commercial development races to keep up with growth
As the population of Hays County continues to grow at a rapid pace, so does investment and construction in commercial real estate.
At the same time, a very low rate of vacancy in some areas of commercial real estate, such as industrial and retail, is putting pressure on developers to build more in and around the I-35 corridor to bring increased options for businesses.
Kyle creates third reinvestment zone
In order to fund much-needed infrastructure and public improvements, promote development and generate property taxes to be used for projects throughout the city, Kyle City Council created its third tax increment reinvestment zone, or TIRZ, in April.
The first TIRZ was created in 2004 and is about 275 acres that covers the Home Depot, Target and H-E-B shopping centers along I-35. The second TIRZ was created in 2018 and at 1,480 acres, starts adjacent to the first TIRZ and reaches out toward the city limits of Kyle.
AUGUST: Hays, San Marcos CISDs see student test scores back on the rise
At a Hays CISD board meeting May 16, Superintendent Eric Wright touted the 2022 end-of-course State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, test results that point to a trend other area school districts have also seen—an improvement that meets or exceeds pre-pandemic scores following a significant drop in 2021.
“We were very pleased with the effort of our students and our teachers across the district. We did not know really what we were going to get coming out of the pandemic, still being one foot in, one foot out, and so we were not really sure how we were going to fare, but we actually did very well districtwide,” Wright said. Test scores rebounded by more than 11 percentage points from 2021.
School districts providing career and college pathways
In recent years, school officials said the career and technical education, or CTE, departments at Hays CISD and San Marcos CISD have seen tremendous growth, and there has been a notable shift in attitude when discussing postsecondary education paths.
“10 years ago we had this culture where we were telling kids that every kid had to go to college, and that has really changed. As a society, we have realized we need electricians and we need plumbers and we need welders; every one of those careers can be a very lucrative career with good benefits, good pay,” HCISD CTE Director Suzi Mitchell said. “You do not necessarily have to go to college to be very successful in life, so because of that, our CTE programs have just exploded, and they are growing.”
SEPTEMBER: Kyle sends historic $294M road bond to November ballot
In a 4-1 vote at the 11th hour Aug. 22, Kyle City Council officially called for a $294,364,546 road bond election in November that is set to improve mobility and safety throughout the city. Council Member Ashlee Bradshaw was not present and Council Member Yvonne Flores-Cale provided the dissenting vote.
The $294 million bond is broken down into a number of ways: preliminary engineering, right-of-way acquisition, utilities, design, construction, and The Vybe integration and construction as well as general engineering consultant fees.
Drought leads to strain on Central Texas water supply
Texas is experiencing its second-driest year in 128 years, affecting 23.9 million people across the state, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System.
Central Texas may see increased drought restrictions in the future due to a lack of rainfall and high temperatures. As of Aug. 29, Hays County was down about 11 inches of rain so far this year below the average, according to data from the National Weather Service.
OCTOBER: At war with an invisible killer-Surge in fentanyl deaths prompt action from local, national agencies
Sitting side by side and holding a framed photo of their son, Kevin, Shannon and Darren McConville shared the life and last moments of their 17-year-old son who they lost to a fentanyl overdose in July.
“He had such a creative mind; he was fascinating. He wanted to make jet engines, and he was drawing out prototypes on how to do it. He would do the research ... he had these crazy dreams but, to him, it all made sense,” Darren McConville said.
NOVEMBER: Hays, Travis counties spar over potential SH 45 road project
With the Austin metro poised as one of the areas with the most growth between 2020-21, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the influx of residents is only adding to the rush hour traffic; and with the majority of cities in Hays County dubbed “bedroom communities,” local leaders are searching for ways to add more infrastructure to the area to meet capacity needs.
DECEMBER: Growing semiconductor industry solidifies Central Texas' status as 'Silicon Hills'
After a year that has seen a national increase in focus on the multibillion-dollar semiconductor industry, Central Texas could maintain its position as a key chipmaking center for the U.S. and a regional economic driver.
Hays County to allocate $44.7M in federal funds to local organizations, institutions
Under the American Rescue Plan Act local nonprofits and organizations could soon benefit from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, a program that issued $350 billion to state, local and tribal governments nationwide to aid in the response and recovery of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sierra Martin, Ben Thompson and Eric Weilbacher contributed to these reports.
