San Marcos Consolidated ISD’s mask mandate will be up for reconsideration during Tuesday’s regular board meeting.
The SMCISD Board of Trustees approved the mask mandate in a special-called meeting on Aug. 12, 2021. The board’s decision came amid a rise in COVID-19 cases spurred by the delta variant. Coronavirus cases have once again seen an increase during the spread of the omicron variant.
According to SMCISD’s COVID-19 dashboard, the district reported 58 new cases among staff and 191 new cases among students during the week of Jan. 10-14. Hays County currently has 8,021 active COVID-19 cases as of Jan. 14.
The current mask mandate requires masks to be worn in all SMCISD facilities. Alongside masks, the district has continued with its safety measures, which include social distancing, vaccinating and testing. Approximately 83% of SMCISD employees have been vaccinated against COVID-19, said Doug Wozniak, SMCISD Director of Safety and Health Services, during a Facebook live event hosted by the City of San Marcos on Jan. 14.
In other business, a public hearing will be held during Tuesday’s meeting to discuss the proposed plan to redistrict the board of trustee’s single-member precinct boundaries after the 2020 U.S. Census.
Two of the five single-member districts — District 2 and 4 — are overpopulated and population has to be moved to other districts. In its current configuration, District 1 has a population of 15,566, District 2 has 19,361, District 3 has 14,917, District 4 has 17,175 and District 5 has 15,063.
In the district’s plan, District 1 would have a population of 16,291, District 2 would have 15,659, District 3 would have 16,053, District 4 would have 16,195 and District 5 would have 16,865. The board will later consider taking possible action regarding the plan to redistrict the board’s single-member precinct boundaries.
In closed session, the board will hear a level III grievance of Carol Fernandez. The trustees will also discuss and take possible action to propose the termination of the probationary contract of a classroom teacher.
Tuesday's meeting takes place at San Marcos High School — 2601 Rattler Road — inside the criminal justice classroom beginning at 6 p.m. The meeting can be viewed online at https://www.smcisd.net/Page/320.
