NOVEMBER 23, 2022 BUDA MAYOR ADDRESSES CITY DURING CHAMBER LUNCHEON
KASZ HAS A FEAST AROUND THE WORLD
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Hays Free Press
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HaysFreePress.com
Vol. 128 • No. 37
Serving Hays County, TX
Lehman high head football Hays CISD losing $7 million in funding coach Bruce Salmon resigns Low attendance rates are the cause BY AMIRA VAN LEEUWEN
interim head football coach. Greene was the assistant
KYLE — According to the Hays CISD Chief Communications Officer Tim Savoy, Lehman High School’s head football coach Bruce Salmon resigned at the end of the football season as he is moving out of state. Salmon was hired in 2018 — a year when the Lobos went 0-10. Overall, the Lobos have only won seven out of 50 games under Salmon, and the team went 2-8 this season. Taylor Greene is the new
athletic coordinator and assistant head football coach prior to Salmon's resignation. February is the school’s target date to have the position filled. “Hays CISD Athletics would like to thank Lobos Coach Salmon for his five years of service to our district and our Lehman Lobo Family; we wish him well and all the best in his future endeavors,” Lance Moffett, Hays CISD athletic director said in a Tweet.
BY BRITTANY ANDERSON
Bruce Salmon
Commissioners discuss limiting intake of community felines BY MEGAN WEHRING HAYS COUNTY – Hays County is considering limiting the number of community cats taken into the San Marcos Regional Animal Shelter (SMRAS). On Nov. 15, the Hays County Commissioners Court discussed the possible adoption of an interim community cat management policy based on recommendations of a feasibility study conducted by Team Shelter USA. The recommendation from Team Shelter USA in June suggested the county revise its animal control ordinance to require municipalities using the SMRAS to discontinue accepting unowned, freeroaming cats unless they are part of an enforcement
case or admitted for Shelter Neuter Return/Trap Neuter Return (TNR) and returned to a home location the following day. “An entire room of cats are being tied up [and] held in cages because of this policy,” said Judge Ruben Becerra. “The shelter needs our action. They are desperate for help and these tiny edits on paper … are ever so pressing when you are standing before them. These are, for the most part, honestly
speaking, cats that won’t get adopted.” On Oct. 23, 2018, the commissioners court approved a resolution to support SMRAS’s efforts to reach a no-kill status within two years. Proposed by commissioners Lon Shell and Debbie Ingalsbe, the resolution stated the county’s intent to invest time and resources in the shelter to help it reach a no-kill status, which is defined as at least a 90% live-outcome rate. The 2018 resolution also requested a creation of an Interlocal Animal Services Commission made up of partners of SMRAS. “We know that [SMRAS] is overcapacity and understaffed,” said Sharri Boyett, animal advocacy advisor. “Those people who are working there have the hardship of managing these
cats that are not tame. So, by removing that problem and letting the cats be [put in] TNR, we will then allow them to be more efficient and have less stress as a worker. We will also allow them to have time to implement programs, do outreach and take better care of the [nearly] 160 dogs they have now and some of the cats that are tame and adoptable.” The current situation is not what no-kill is supposed to be, Boyett said. “We don’t want them euthanized; nobody is saying that,” Boyett said. “What we are saying is that it’s best practices across all understanding, all veterinary experts … This is what the government should be doing to support its constituents.”
See CATS, page 5
Public Safety Center to get ‘Police Department’ signage BY AMIRA VAN LEEUWEN
rendering three because it was a “cleaner” look. “I just thought the KYLE — In a 5-1 stars were a little much decision, city council everywhere,” Zuniga said. directed city staff to install During the discussion, “Police Department” Parsley called upon police signage on the front of chief Jeff Barnett to hear his the Public Safety Center, thoughts. as shown in Tuesday’s “I’m gonna give you the regularly scheduled city political answer. We’re council meeting. The freshly sworn-in city happy to work in any building titled whatever council member, Miguel you want,” Barnett said. Zuniga, voted in dissent. “We’re just so happy to get Ryan Rosborough, vice the building.” president of AG/CM, Tobias suggested presented several design removing the KPD signs in renderings with different the old police department verbiage and design building and applying elements. Council member Daniela them to the Public Safety Center building. Parsley took a liking to the “There’s no budget mock-up that said “Police Department” with stars on amendment; all we have to either side of the text and is do is installation fees. Not only that, you could bring slightly arched. Zuniga said he liked some kind of nostalgia to
HAYS COUNCIL DENIES MUD PAGE 3
it to where people can say, ‘Hey that was the original P-O-L-I-C-E logos that were on the same building from the old one,’” council member Michael Tobias said. Council member Yvonne Flores-Cale stated that this item was not meant to be political. “It was a genuine question because I had someone say, ‘I don’t care what it’s called,’ and I’m like, you don’t because you’ve never had to walk into a police department as somebody who may be a victim or a rape victim and needs to go to a police department,” Flores Cale said. Mayor Travis Mitchell thought the additional
See POLICE, page 2
Hays CISD’s enrollment currently stands at 22,330 students, but with an attendance rate of 93.17%, the district is facing a $7 million loss in funding. During the Nov. 14 Hays CISD board of trustees meeting, superintendent Dr. Eric Wright provided the district with an update regarding an audit report that would reflect this loss of funding due to low attendance rates during the 2021-22 school year. Wright explained that there was anticipated revenue that didn’t end up being generated due to low attendance rates. As such, the district did not receive ADA (average daily attendance) Hold Harmless for its fifth and sixth six weeks when the attendance rate was a little more than 90% during that time. The Hold Harmless policy was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic as a means for district funding regardless of its enrollment and attendance rates. “We were all thinking we were going to receive ADA Hold Harmless for the entire year,” Wright said. “What we found from behind the scenes is that the state, even though they have a $27 billion surplus right now, noticed that $9 billion in ESSER [elementary
See FUNDING, page 6
BUSINESS NEWS
Former Netflix exec joins Hill Country Studios BY MEGAN WEHRING HAYS COUNTY – Hill Country Studios recruited its new chief operations officer from Netflix. Kevin Bar, a former Netflix executive, has more than 15 years of experience in the film and television industry and will support Hill Country Studios across its $267 million construction (groundbreaking is slated for early next year,) generating strategic alliances, creating productive partnerships and helping the local community get involved in the fresh opportunity the studio is bringing to Texas. Before his time at Netflix, Bar served as vice president of Pinewood International and international sales executive for Pinewood Atlanta Studios. “I kind of got to see from the ground up what that looks like building studios and premier infrastructure, partnering with job/ training programs, seeing crews and vendors and just [overall] seeing the production industry thrive and grow,” Bar said. “I saw a similar connection with this project and the team behind it and the vision for the property and studio at large.” Bar added that he is excited to be a part of the studio’s role in the film/ TV industry in Texas, specifically along the I-35
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Kevin Bar
corridor. “Our main goal is to create an established studio as the premier destination for major production,” Bar said. “Have a studio that can really serve any production need and really create a hub that can serve the industry. We really want to be a onestop.” Hill Country Studios wants to be a global destination to fit the needs of independent film or major film production, Bar added. “I’m from Indiana [and] I lived in New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta. [Texas] reminds me of all the different education and experiences I have had in both [my personal life] and in my career. I see a lot of different shades of that in what’s happening in Austin, statewide and at the studio. It’s not a big jump, it’s a slight change,” he said.