Hawk April 2026

On the Chopping Block

District Optimization Plan Threatens Programs, School Closures

Pages 6-8

Hawk

Hendrickson High School 19201 Colorado Sand Drive Pflugerville. Texas 78660 Volume 19, Issue 6 April 24, 2026

In this Issue...

Football Coach One Act Departs Advances

Page 4

Page 8

Hot Takes, Debates Page 12

2 Our Turn Opinions Volume 19, Issue 6

Newspaper editors write goodbye messages for graduation Addison Curtis | Editor Going into my freshman year of high school, I always knew Journalism was something I would pursue. Up until my junior year, I wrote only for the yearbook. But going into my senior year, I thought it would be fun to join the newspaper as well. While it was stressful at first, I really came to enjoy the pressure and the payoff of seeing our printed paper in students’ hands. I think what I most love about writing and journalism is that I get to tell my peers’ stories. There are so many wonderful students in this school, and so many have unique stories to tell.

I’m grateful to Mrs. Riemer for allowing me to highlight others who may otherwise go unheard. She has always been so supportive of me, in and outside of the classroom.

In addition, it has been an honor to work with the staff.

I am truly so proud of how much everyone has grown Antonio Garcia | Editor My journalism journey is a story of which I believe fate was always at work, from joining journalism as a backup class, to going into newspaper because of a personal request from Mrs. Riemer, it really felt like fate was pushing me along the whole way.

My first year in newspaper was a bumpy ride, and I often felt like I wasn’t truly ready for what I signed up for, but even when I felt like I wouldn’t be ready for another year, fate said otherwise. I was with a great team, and I would find that I was ready in the end after all.

I extend my thanks to the team of my junior year, the previous editors Gia and Eliana, and fellow reporter Marcos Hans | Editor As I prepare to graduate this year, I want to take a moment to say goodbye to my time as an editor of the newspaper and reflect on how much it has meant to me.

Being part of the Newspaper team has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences of my high school years.

A big reason for that was last year’s editors, Gia, Eliana, and Travis, who taught me much about journalism, from writing and editing to laying out the paper through InDesign.

What stood out most was how welcoming the Natalia Beltran | Editor Walking into the journalism room for the first time, I didn’t realize I was stepping into something that would stay with me long after graduation. At the time, it just felt like another commitment to balance. However, It became a place where I learned how to think differently, express myself, and how to be a part of something bigger than just my own work. As a senior preparing to graduate, I find myself reflecting not just on what I’ve written, but on everything this experience has given me.

The moment that set this journey in motion was when Mrs. Riemer encouraged me to participate in the UIL writing competitions. Throughout my whole life, I’ve never felt seen or recognized for my academic work.

Whether it be with my essay and poetry writings, or my strong passion for science. A part of me always wished someone outside of my household would take me seriously. Not just a silly girl writing for fun, and not just the little girl playing

in their writing, editing, and designing. I know all the seniors are leaving this newspaper in great hands. Lastly, I would like to shout out Hutton; thank you for being my buddy in class.

You are an incredibly talented writer, and you never fail to make me laugh with your witty comments. I know you, along with the other underclassmen, are destined for greatness.

Thank you all for being an amazing staff; I will never forget the kindness everyone in journalism has shown me.

Fella, an editor who never got to be due to moving out of the country. I also wish to thank the team of this year, all those who I could never see, and reporter Faris and editor Natalia for being my newspaper buddies in a separated class. It may have been just a trio, but it was one that meant a lot to me.

And of course, I wish to show my appreciation for Mrs. Riemer, for being a strong leader of the newspaper and yearbook, and for always being there to guide me throughout journalism. Even when I had to ask many questions to know what I was doing, she was always ready to answer. My time has come to leap into the next chapter of my life, but I wish the best for the future reporters and editor of the newspaper. I know that as long as Mrs. Riemer is in charge, it will be in good hands. atmosphere was from the start. I always felt encouraged, and valued, and was eventually recommended to be an Editor, which eventually brought me to where I am now.

As I move on to college for the next chapter of my life, I will carry everything I learned here with me. I’m grateful for the memories, the lessons, and the people who made this experience what it was. with science kits. Taking up this responsibility changed everything. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me take writing more seriously, ultimately guiding me towards the newspaper team.

Being a part of the newspaper editor team has been such a meaningful part of my high school experience. I’ve enjoyed every aspect of it, such as the collaboration, the creativity, and even the pressure.

As I move on from high school, my path is shifting toward science. I plan to study astrophysics along with other science-based fields, hoping to become a research scientist. Although this direction seems far from journalism, both fields come from the same place.

A desire to understand, to question, and to make sense of the world.

Leaving the newspaper team is not easy, but I’m thankful for every opportunity, every challenge, and every memory that came with being a part of this team.

While I may be moving on, the lessons and passion I’ve gained here will stay with me, shaping whatever comes next.

Illustration by | Karina Bon

Hit or Miss Construction affects already crowded parking In July of 2025, Central Texas saw heavy rainfall and flooding, causing damage to vital infrastructure all across the region. While most of the severe flooding was seen south of Austin, Pflugerville still experienced a hefty amount.

For the plastic drainage pipes feeding under the senior parking lot, the rain caused them to cave in and break. Due to the urgency of fixing the drainage faults in unpredictable Texas weather, the district decided, in a timely manner, to contract a construction company to fix the pipes before the situation got worse. If the district decided to wait until summer, they would have run the risk of more flooding and damage during spring.

However, the construction is taking up a good amount of space, makes a lot of noise, kicks up dust, and even caused damage to some senior parking spots. It’s almost like every week they claim new territory.

Due to the inconveniences caused, we find the construction in the senior parking lot a necessary miss.

Chess makes a return in school for students As time goes on, more websites tend to get blocked on the school chromebooks. Although most game websites are blocked already, one that will most likely stay up due to most things being online nowadays is Chess.

Over the past few weeks, Chess has once again been on the screens of many students. This is most likely due to the rising popularity that the game is receiving over the internet. When it comes to playing games in school, even Chess could be distracting to students and disrupt some of their learning. Even with the possibility of those things happening, it has much more benefits than negative effects. For example, playing chess can greatly improve your memory as well as problem solving skills.

Having Chess to play when you’re not busy or have your work done is a great way for students to build different skills instead of doing something like watching Youtube.

Even with Chess being a game, it’s still a good way to have fun while enhancing your brain. With these reasons, Chess having a comeback is a hit.

Powderpuff brings excitement as it nears The Powderpuff game has been a tradition for many many years. This tradition includes junior and senior girls playing a game of flag football, while the football team coaches them. The Powderpuff game is also for a fundraiser for the senior class. The players, coaches, and referees all pay to play, as well as those on the field, the audience also pays for a ticket to the game. This money is used to go towards the senior prom. Considering that the game is a fun, interactive opportunity to help out the senior class, the Powderpuff game is a hit.

Opinions April 24, 2026

Staff Editorial

Your Turn What do you think of the district’s plans to save money?

“I think that changing to a traditional schedule will be bad. It'll be too much learning one in one day. And then if they decide to close schools, the kids would be overcrowded in one campus.” -Amir Ramirez, 11 “I can see why they're doing it.

Less schools would need more or less funding. As for the traditional schedules, honestly, I kinda missed when I had the eighth period block back in middle school because we had the same classes every day. And with the new block period we have now, it was kinda hard for me to remember which assignments I had to do even when I set up reminders. So I, think they're fine ideas.”

-Gise Henry, 12 “I think it's smart to shut down schools that aren't overly populated, I guess.

And, the thing with eight classes in one day, I don't like that because you need at least two days to make sure you get all your work completed and to process the information, and learn it better.” -Karrington Mack, 9 “I don't think that it’s the smartest idea because the days would be longer and double blocked classes would be weird.” -Jordan West, 12 “I think it's a good idea, because it saves money for schools that aren't overpopulated. And for traditional schedules, I don't like that because the thing i like about having block schedule is that I have more time to do homework. Having a traditional schedule would be more stressful having to take home 8 homeworks a day, and you don't have an extra day to get it done.” -Emerson Graf, 9 “I like the traditional schedule. I think it's better, I think it helps with not missing so much work because I do forget certain work for a certain day. So having everything in one day helps keep track of my classes and my grades and stuff.” -Caia Cutis, 10 The Hawk, the official student newspaper of Hendrickson High School, is an open forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions.

Hendrickson High School 19201 Colorado Sand Drive Pflugerville, TX 78660 http://www.pfisd.net/HHS (512) 594-1100 Student Population: 2,134 Staff: 180

Opinions expressed reflect the beliefs of the student author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the entire Hawk Staff, the Hawk Adviser, the Hendrickson Faculty and Staff, or the Principal.

Principal: Michael Grebb Adviser: Kari Riemer

Letters to the editor are welcomed, and may be dropped

www.facebook.com/HawkNewspaper

Cover art by Brittany Truong

3

District Optimization calls for community feedback At the center of major concerns for institutions around the world is the foundation and fundamental structures in place for how it is run, and the same applies for school districts as well. Many decisions are made within school districts to set up how things work, handle management of buildings and the ways they are used, and management of finances. These things are set up early in a district, but there are times in which they must be changed in a well established system. PfISD is now facing one of those times, as choices are now being considered in the PfISD District Optimization plan.

The District Optimization proposes a variety of decisions and changes that will leave a significant impact in certain areas, as various draft scenarios have been published with plans mostly involving zone changes, reworking of currently opened schools, closing of elementary and middle schools, and even switching off of block scheduling in high schools for 8-period days.

These are major decisions that will affect education for students, jobs for teachers, and even routines for parents as closings and rezonings will lead to different routes to be taken. Conflicting opinions on these decisions are expected, and PfISD encourages everyone within the district to give their feedback on the scenarios. If there is any time to have your voice heard, this is the time to do so.

Most of the scenarios are not ones that can be taken lightly, and the district is open to discussion and feedback on what could be done about the current plans.

The district actively encourages community participation in the matter and expression of everyone’s opinions, as they will propose edits to the current plans that are manageable to the overall goal of the optimization.

Having your voice heard now will contribute to the district in the long run, as approved changes will be put into effect during the 2027-2028 school year. The opinions of the community will also be taken into consideration for the overall decisions made for the optimization.

The optimization holds great importance for students just as much as it does for the staff, and so students are also heavily encouraged to give their feedback, even if they are soon to graduate. Various elementary and middle schools are up for consideration of being closed, in which students and staff attending them will have to go elsewhere. Furthermore, the plan to change the schedule of high schools from the current block schedule to an 8-period day is one of the most important scenarios to be discussed among students, as it will change up the way students learn in high school, and affect the pacing of classes and the school environment overall. The voice of the student population is necessary for the future of the district.

It is important to also make sure that everyone does their own research and reading into the optimization to get a better understanding of the scenarios and what they will entail if they are put into effect. The optimization plan is currently available on the PfiSD website, alongside a ThoughtExchange survey which serves as the main feedback form for the optimization.

Emails regarding the optimization have also been sent out, which may be a good place to look for quick access to the optimization plan. Detailed information on the scenarios are available on the site, which provides indepth information regarding the decisions and the reasoning behind them. The ThoughtExchange survey specifically asks for opinions on individual scenarios, so it is important to have a good understanding of each one that will be given feedback.

Alternatively, emailing the school board is also another option to sharing your opinion on the optimization.

With these changes currently in the works for the district, and with time still left before the initial voting on the plans to be put into place, the opinion of every individual in the district can still contribute towards what may be voted on, or what may be amended within the current plans later on.

It is important to keep in mind that these plans are with the district’s best interest in mind to help keep it running smoothly in the future. The initial voting will be held in May, so while time is still left, your voice can contribute to the future of PfiSD.

Illustration by | Karina Bon off in E211. Corrections will be printed when brought to the attention of the staff.

The Hawk is printed monthly at Community Impact in Pflugerville, Texas. 1,000 copies are printed each run, and are distributed to the student body for free before school on publication day and on newsstands throughout the building.

Associations

Editorial Staff Editors

Reporters

Artists

Natalia Beltran Addison Curtis Marcos Hans Antonio Garcia Hutton Weirich

Landon Green Presley Hall Faris Hamad Nazayha Miller Marcelo Molina Asher Parks Nate Wilkerson

Karina Bon Kayla Nguyen Brittany Truong

Interscholastic Press League Texas Association of Journalism Educators Journalism Educators Association National Scholastic Press Association Columbia Scholastic Press League

Honors

ILPC Bronze Star 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2024 ILPC Silver Star 2021 Columbia Scholastic Press League, Gold Medalist 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 Silver Crown, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2026 Gold Crown 2025 Pacemaker Finalist, 2018

4

News Volume 19, Issue 6

Football Farewell

Head football coach, athletic coordinator resigns Marcelo Molina | Reporter Former Head Football Coach and Athletic Coordinator Douglas Pearce, after 8 years as an assistant football coach and 4 years as a head football coach, resigned March 13th, 2026. Pearce now works at Eastview High School as their Offensive Coordinator.

“I felt that it was best for the program and that my family and I needed a fresh start somewhere new,” Pearce said. “I enjoyed my time at Hendrickson for 12 years and wish nothing but the best for them.”

During the period of searching for a new head coach, coach Kevin McKinley temporarily filled the role that Pearce held. Pearce’s departure introduces new changes to not only the football program, but the athletics programs as well, considering he was also the athletic coordinator.

“He has been here for so long and a figure in the community for so long,” coach Jaymes Castillo said. “It’s definitely hard when anything big like this changes.”

The search for a new head coach means this will be the first time in Hendrickson

High School history that a head football coach has been hired externally and not promoted from current staff. With this in mind, it can be challenging for a head coach to come from outside of the community and fulfill such an important role while simultaneously adjusting to the desires of the athletes, coaches, and parents.

“The next head football coach should be somebody that wants to empower the coaches on staff to help them grow and pursue the goals and desires that they want,” coach Peter Noonan said. “While also helping to grow and develop not just athletes but young men and other people into better human beings.”

The PfISD administration handles the process for finding new head coaches and athletic coordinators, where they picked Adam Naron from Hereford High School to fulfill both of these positions. The administration did this through a special vetting process that weeds through all of the applicants to determine if they fit the criteria necessary for what the school needs.

“The process starts with the survey we sent out for the parents and kids,” principal Michael Grebb said. “And we get that number down to a small number that we interview, and we find who’s the best fit from there.”

With Pearce’s departure, some players have taken to transferring to other schools and districts. However, there are still UIL

eligibility requirements that can dictate player eligibility for those who transfer.

“It’s because of what they see on TV, thinking that the NCAA transfer portal is the same thing as Texas high school athletics," coach Kevin McKinley said.

“Hopefully they know the rules and follow the rules and are eligible to play in the future.”

Coach Doug Pearce gives a pep talk to the varsity football team during the Hays game this past fall. Photos by Ryleigh Mackey

Keep Calm & Game On Esports team advances to state championship Antonio Garcia | Editor Alongside the various clubs and sports teams in the school lies an Esports team, a team of players dedicated to playing

Logan Desautels, 11

video games competitively and for sport.

The Esports team now stands among the teams of other sports this year that have made it far into their seasons, as they advance to the state championship.

Led by computer science teacher Mario Moreno, the team meets weekly to practice the games they play and to improve their skills both individually and as a team.

“The key is if they can improve as players, but most importantly as a team as well,” Moreno said. “It goes for all team games that it’s the better team that wins, not just the better players.”

Alongside working on skills in games, the members also work on managing themselves in their environment in preparation for tournaments.

“I work to help them with anxiety and stage pressure,” Moreno said. “It’s about getting them used to it before the actual event, and it’s also about not getting discouraged and staying in the game even if they lose a round.”

The tournaments are hosted by the

Texas Scholastic Esports Federation (abbreviated as TexSEF), in which the tournaments are referred to as the TexSEF Undisputed championship. On Mar 28, the team won first place across the board in the District Duel, qualifying for the state championship.

“The team works really well together, and it showed for sure at the tournament,” Moreno said. “We won first place in each category, and I attribute that to our teamwork.”

The district championship will take place from April 30 to May 2, in which the team will continue to practice until then.

“Every member needs to be ready and willing to give it their all together,” Moreno said. “Really, I just want to help them all find what works best for them as they go.”

This is the first year of the Esports club at this school, and with the progress already made in the first year, the team will work to keep up with performing as well as they can in the future.

“I want to keep this up, and I want them to be able to spend time together outside

of school and still work as a team,” Moreno said. “In the future, I hope we can branch out to other games as well, and I hope to be able to form different teams for them.”

Photos provided by Lucas Chan

Lucas Chan, 10

News April 24, 2026

5

Academic Excellence

UIL Academics team victorious in District Landon Green | Reporter This year’s UIL Academics team dominated District with almost 200 points higher than the 2nd place team.

All the first, second, and third place competitors will be going to Region at the end of April.

“When you first get there, you just see the people that are competing with you.

It’s just more of a friendly competition.

There’s not much pressure,” sophomore Vinwinn Dinesh Kumar said. “You usually just talk about the competition, if there’s anything you studied, anything you didn’t study, and anything you want to know.”

The UIL competition is held every year and it is a state wide competition for high schools.

“I competed in all of them,” freshman Ella Hiserote said. and I got first place in headline writing, First place in feature writing, second place in news writing, third place in editorial writing, and sixth place in copy editing. You kinda just wait for your competitions to get called up, then you wait a little longer, then you get on stage to compete.”

While some people spoke in front of judges, some had to sit down and take a test.

“The test was a lot harder than I expected,” senior Hannah Saad said. “So I was kind of concerned about what I was going to do, because a lot of it was mostly gut feelings or, process of elimination.

So it was definitely more difficult than I expected, but I think a lot of people were experiencing that in that event, too.”

Speech, Debate team competes at Harvard Asher Parks | Reporter The speech and debate team traveled to the Harvard Speech and Debate Tournament and returned with the title of third place winners and the first in the school’s history to place at the Tournament.

“The Harvard Speech and Debate Tournament is an invitational where the Harvard Debate Council invites institutions across the country in order to debate at both the Harvard campus and associated campuses around it,” Junior Payton Lin said. “It’s really prestigious, and Hendrickson has been really lucky in the

fact that we’ve been invited.”

The winning team consisted of Lin, senior Natalie Mathews, junior Ike Ugboajah, junior Dallin Billings, and junior Lucas Tong. All of them competed together in over 10 rounds of debate.

“Our topics can be about anything.

We’ve had topics that are pretty obviously political type of things, like you would expect, but we’ve also had, like, stupid or sillier topics, such as, this house regrets France, or we prefer elves being on Mars,” Ugboajah said. “They can really be anything. It can range from political stuff to environmental or anything else.”

The Harvard Speech and Debate Tournament Is a event not many high schools get to go to, with This team’s speeches and debates making history.

“I think that the number one advice is to be confident,” Mathews said. “A lot of speech and debate is just being able to be convincing, to use rhetoric, and to kind of just hook the audience, hook the judge, everything like that. And a lot of that just comes from confidence.”

Speech and Debate teams usually consist of 5-6 people and tournaments are usually 3-8 rounds with the Harvard speech and debate tournament this year being a little

more with Reports indicating at least 7 preliminary rounds for top teams and 6 prelims for other formats.

“So even if you don’t think you’re doing a good job, even if you know that what you’re saying isn’t true, just say it with confidence and just try your best,” Mathews said. “Because I think a lot of time people get really scared and they try to be perfectionist when it comes to either debate or speech. But just being confident in your own abilities, being confident in your team, and being confident in the work that you put in to get to that place is very, very key to success.”

6

Feature Volume 19, Issue 6

On the chopping block

District optimization plan threatens program

School Board addresses funding deficit through plans Marcelo Molina | Reporter PfISD has developed their district optimization plans in response to rising inflation and lack of sufficient state funding in order to prevent an unrecoverable deficit and state intervention.

The state of being ‘in deficit' means that more money is being spent than generated. Deficit can be caused by many things; trends of overspending, emergency spending, and unattended debt are usual causes of deficit.

In the case of PfISD, there are many reasons why the district is in a deficit.

Chevonne Lorigo-Johst, the President of the PfISD Board of Trustees, is responsible for district finances along with the rest of the school board.

“The debt has been brewing for a couple of years,” Johst said. “But these are funding issues that the entire state is experiencing.”

State involvement in fixing the deficit includes legislative bienniums, or 2 year congressional periods used to organize budgets and to discuss finances.

“In 2025, there was a 55 dollar increase per student,” Johst said. “We needed something closer to about 1,200 dollars per student for us to be able to afford the increases and inflation” Deficit is required to be covered in order to maintain a healthy fund balance. If not attended to, the district’s credibility will be diminished for their failure to pay off their deficit.

“When you start to fall under 75 days of operating expenses,” Johst said. “You start to become vulnerable to interaction from the Texas Education Agency.”

The TEA (Texas Education Agency) is responsible for upkeeping all public and charter schools in the state. The TEA manages funding distribution, course material, and assessment plans. However, the TEA has no bearing on private and religious schools.

“The TEA can come in and give you a financial advisor that may or may not represent the values and beliefs of your community,” Johst said. “You also have the risk of a TEA takeover, where they can appoint a board of managers that would replace all of the elected school

board members and the superintendent.”

Before the district optimization plan, the district used certain measures and tactics to prevent deficits from occurring in an ever-changing economy with increasing inflation.

“We definitely did things like reducing certain spending areas and finding different vendors,” Johst said. “[We also] renegotiated contracts to be more friendly towards the district or the schools, and reduction in optional programs.”

When inflation causes prices to rise and fluctuate, district response is necessary.

This can include defunding programs that aren’t entirely vital to student prosperity and rather luxuries.

“A few years ago they had to remove Kickstart from some middle schools,” Johst said. “Now it’s a discussion for the remaining schools that have that program.”

Public school revenue comes in the form of federal funding and local taxes. PfISD currently follows an attendance-based funding model that generates the district money based on student attendance.

“You have some funding that comes from the federal government,” Johst said.

“Some of your funds also come from the state, but a lot of your funds come from local property taxes.”

While the state hasn’t passed much legislation to assist public schools, they have created the TEFA (Texas Education Freedom Accounts) program to provide voucher money to private schools across Texas. The program is application-based, granting voucher money in the tens of thousands to schools and families who request financial assistance for their student’s tuition.

“There’s a billion dollars set aside [for voucher programs],” Johst said. “That money could have been used for literally anything else had it been voted that way.”

School closures possible avenue In an effort to improve some of the debt that PFISD schools are facing, optimization plans have proposed some changes that may be put in place in the 2027-2028 school year.

One of the proposed changes is the potential closing of certain elementary schools, which, if put into place, would have students move from a closing school to a different, larger school.

“Depending on which scenarios move forward, there is potential of saving 18-20 million dollars in the next couple of years,” Pflugerville ISD school board president Chevonne LorigoJohst said. “So, that definitely helps pad and rejuvenate our fund balance, but that’s not without the needed advocacy to continue fighting for proper public education.”

Closing certain elementary and middle schools could be helpful with bringing the district out of debt by having schools hold around 600 to 2,000 students, which would help with the costs of maintenance. This is because the costs of cleaning, cooling, and many other things would be used for a larger population of students in one building instead of spending money on a school that holds much fewer students.

“So there’s multiple things that need to happen at the same time, and that's to cut costs and keep dollars as close to our students as possible,” Johst said.

“And look at ways that we can make healthy financial decisions without harming our students, staff, or teachers to the best of our abilities.”

Although the plan has not been passed yet, certain schools have already been listed on a list of optimization scenarios for schools that may be risking closing.

This list was decided by a consulting firm that studied the district as a whole based on objective metrics, such as building utilization, ratings based off of academics, the cost of operating the

buildings, and more.

“I know that those ratings are purely a snapsh of our students, and that all of our campuses phenomenal,” Johst said. “But we’re trying keep as many dollars as close to our classroo as possible rather than potentially spend so much money on keeping the lights on a doing things for buildings that may be half fu There are multiple reasons why the sch board has decided to take a full year for implementation of some of these optimizat plans, such as properly planning and figur out transportation, staffing, programmi and rezoning. This could also help with some the distress and sudden changes that studen staff, and teachers may experience from th plans.

“While we talk a lot about the data and numbers, our board and our distr are very aware that beh

every number is a person and that every sin campus that we have is a community, and tho are deeply personal connections” Johst sa “So, despite how difficult the financial tim are, we found that our kids and our teachers worth the investment to take that extra year honor any campuses that may be affected possible consolidation but also take the time do our implementation well.”

The district and school board have allow for the community to be involved and give th feedback on the optimization plans for clos certain schools.

“We’ve got a lot of emotional and perso stories, which reminds us that what we’re do matters,” Johst said. “But then it also crea

Feature April 24, 2026

7

ms, school closures

e for savings

hot are g to oms ding and ull.” hool the tion ring ing, e of nts, hese

the rict hind

ngle ose aid. mes are r to d by e to

wed heir sing

onal oing ates

a tension of, ‘how do we make these difficult decisions when everyone loves their school?’

But it’s a different perspective when you’re advocating on behalf of a system of 25,000 kids, so trying to focus on equity, on what the projective trends are for future enrollment, all of those are things that we balance.”

Despite the emotional responses, the district and school board has also received support and understanding from the community.

“For a lot of community members, what we’ve heard is that they know it’s not a district issue or spending problem,” Johst said. “It is a funding problem. So it’s a little consoling to know that there is faith in what we’re doing and that we did not put ourselves in this situation, this is something that has been handed to us as well as districts across the state.”

The district and school board also need to take into consideration what school will stay open to take in students if this plan goes into effect.

“It really depends on the daft scenario. So if a middle school is proposed for a potential closure, one can deduce from that that the surround ing middle schools would likely be taking on some of their student s ,” Johst said. “We have so many elementary schools, so there’s a good chance that if one particular elementary school is consolidated, that those children don’t all go to one school. These decisions will impact every student and staff member in some way.”

There is definitely a chance that this plan could be approved and go into effect in the next few years to help the PFISD district to get out of some of its debt.

“There is always a chance that it's voted against,” Johst said. “But I think if we do nothing at all, that brings a lot of concern about where our future financial health and local control will go. So, if we want a financially healthy district, then some decisions have to be made.”

Re-zoning inevitable option for District Addison Curtis | Editor With the end of the school year approaching, staff, students, and parents learned about 12 new potential draft scenarios from the district.

Draft scenario 11 is an option where the 4 high schools within the district would be re-zoned, meaning many potential students going into the school would be re-zoned to another.

“Because of building utilization, we want to make sure we have enough kids going to each building to maximize energy, cost, staffing, and facility space,” principal Michael Grebb said. You don’t want to be cooling a room that doesn’t have kids in it.”

Our school, along with Weiss, experiences more overcrowding than the other high schools in the district.

The re-drawing of the zones would theoretically eliminate this ongoing problem.

“You don’t want a school to be underenrolled, so the target for every building is 80% capacity, ‘cause then you’re running e f f i c i e n t l y,” Grebb said.

“Part of it is if you rezone the high schools to make sure they all have the amount of kids to make their buildings maximized to 80% or higher.”

These draft scenarios are all to do with the district’s new “Optimization Plan.” This is currently going into effect because the district has a budget deficit.

“This current year, 25-26, our expenses are exceeding what our revenue collections are,” School Board President Chevonne Lorigo-Johst said. “So we are looking at somewhere between a 10 and 11 million dollar deficit, and with the upcoming school year, the budget hasn’t been passed yet, but early projections are indicating somewhere

between 18 and 20 million dollars.”

Many people may not like any of the proposed plans, such as the rezoning draft scenario, and will not want any changes. However, this is not sustainable.

“As we continue to have expenses go up, and revenue decreasing then fund balance gets smaller and smaller very very quickly and when you reach a point of about 75 or below days then the Texas Education Agency can take some control and they can come in and say you need a financial advisor or they can put in a conservatorship which means you remove your local elected school board which is your local control your local governance and your superintendent and they appoint whoever they

would like to,” Ms. Lorigo-Johst said.

“When we look from a fiscal stewardship purview, it’s important to our school board and to our superintendent and our district that we can represent our local taxpayers, and we never want to put ourselves at risk.”

Due to the risk of losing the appointed school board, the district will have to turn to solutions, such as rezoning.

“The idea of rezoning means we’re not building a new campus and we can offer additional resources to students by simply rezoning,” Ms. Lorigo-Johst said. “But also a very heavy discussion

because people are, they’re tied to their high schools, and they’re tied to their community. So even if you don’t have a current student in a high school, a lot of folks buy their homes with the idea of what high school their kids are going to.”

The district knows many of these scenarios are somewhat frightening and stressful for many members of the community. Therefore, they are inviting parents, staff, and students to come out and share their opinions on the different scenarios.

The school board will be holding a workshop on May 7 at the Admin Building by Pflugerville High School, where the district will present the final recommendations of the scenarios.

Then, on May 14, in the same location, the public will be able to provide public comments that will contribute to the board’s deliberation on the topics. And any of the school board members’ emails are also always open to any member of the community who feels the need to share t h e i r opinions on the optimization plan.

“We know that each community is behind every school, and so there’s a lot of humanity behind it, but protecting the long-term success of our district and our kids is super important.” Ms. Lorigo-Johst said. “Our ultimate goal is to provide a successful pathway and education to all of our students, but in order to do that, we have to have local representation who cares about the values of that community.”

Illustrations by | Brittany Truong

8 Removing block schedule biggest threat for high schools Pros Cons Feature Volume 19, Issue 6

Nate Wilkerson | Reporter PFISD has been trying to reduce the budget deficit that the district as a whole has had to undergo. To combat this as well as other problems that PFISD has found, they will be going through with something called the district optimization plan that will be going into motion the Fall of 2027. One of the ideas would be to move from a blocked schedule to a traditional schedule for high schools. While this would be a huge change for the students and teachers that are used to block schedules, there are some benefits to this change.

“With teachers, I think it could be good because then you can plan quicker activities,” principal Michael Grebb said.

“I think you also get to master everything, too, when I taught in a traditional way by the end of the day, my lesson was really good because of lots of practice.”

The benefits of a traditional schedule instead of a blocked schedule don’t stop with ways it might help teachers, it could greatly help students as well once they are able to get used to it.

“Some ways it might help students is with their shorter attention spans,” Grebb said. It’ll help to get up and move every fifty minutes, as well as students will have math every day, so that’s helpful because sometimes every other day is a little hard.”

In other ways it could help students,

incoming 9th graders most likely would have been doing a traditional schedule in school for all of their middle school years. Making the transition from middle school to high school is already pretty big and can carry a lot of stress.

If there is a traditional schedule in place at the high schools, it might take a lot of the stress away and make it easier to get used to everything.

“The transition from for eighth graders to ninth graders will be a lot smoother, they don’t have to be on a different schedule because I know it’s a problem for our freshmen sometimes because they wait until the last minute to do things because they have another day,” Grebb said. “This way, they’re kinda coming from middle school and doing the same thing, which I think would be very helpful.”

As it may be hard for students to keep a real attention to a class lesson and activity for an hour and a half, going to a traditional schedule and having a shorter, more organized class can help students keep focus during the day.

“I think having really engaging, handson, and organized lessons where the kids are used to these routines will really help kids know what to do every day and think from one thing to the next as the day goes on.”

Marcelo Molina | Reporter As part of the PfISD District Optimization plans, an idea posed for the 2027-2028 school year is to switch from block scheduling to traditional scheduling. Traditional scheduling will have students going to all of their classes every day, which in turn will allow them to learn more consistently than every other day.

However, there are a handful of negatives that come with the cut.

For courses like AP classes, being shortened will negatively impact their curriculum.

“Being an AP teacher and trying to emulate the AP test time is not going to be able to happen anymore,“ Cheer coach and AP environmental science teacher Dana Haub said. "I just see a lot of timed things that I don’t think will work well.”

In addition to time constraints, science teachers will also have issues with time management in designing effective labs and experiments.

“The problem is, with a chemistry class, there’s a shorter amount of time for labs,” engineering and chemistry teacher Eric Fitzgerald said. “A shorter class period that means you’re going to have to change what your labs look like, and there's a lot of curriculum change that has to happen.”

The problems aren’t just limited to the more experimental and hands-on classes either. English classes, where lessons often involve reading lengthy pieces of literature outside of class, or even in class, will see negatives and shifts in the curriculum.

“I did previously teach English with 45 minute class periods,“ OnRamps and English teacher Emily Hall said. “I just can’t imagine that with 45 minute class periods, everything will be as productive.“ Fine arts programs pose the m o s t interesting

conflict. These courses desire lengthy class periods for necessary time to rehearse material.

“For choir this is great because I see the students every single day,” choir director Cassandra Knoedl said. “But I know that it affects other programs negatively.”

The theater program is virtually busy all year long. From the musical showcase in the fall, to the children’s show at the end of the year, the program has a very packed schedule with a high performance standard to uphold.

“We find that block schedule is really effective because it gives us a big solid amount of time for our productions,” Theater director Michael Fisher said.

“It’s a lot harder to produce in a 45 minute period where you’re spending the first 5 minutes prepping and getting transitioned into working.”

However, band, likely to be double blocked, would not be too affected by a transition to a traditional schedule so long as they retain 90 minutes a day. However, if band is only allowed 45 minutes a day, the program would see negative effects.

“That hour and 30 minutes is essential to us and putting our production together,” assistant band director Isaac Medina said. “Having to shorten that down dramatically would be difficult.”

Some students also expressed concern over how teachers would respond to curriculum changes.

“Shorter periods means you have to cram a lot more information into one class,” sophomore Julia Rinh said. “It would probably make the curriculum a lot longer because teachers would have to rework them from what they were already used to.”

Some students also believe that the work could be more challenging to manage for them.

“I think switching will make it more difficult if I have to keep taking classes that are harder,” sophomore Albert Torres said. “Not having blocks and not being able to do homework only some days and not others will be really hard to adjust to.”

In the 2027-2028 school year, current sophomores will be seniors. The district optimization plans will affect their off periods by cutting the amount of time for an off period in half.

“Having a shorter off period is just messed up,” sophomore Suleyman Tekin said. “It’s gonna make a lot of kids unhappy because they’re not gonna have enough free time to enjoy their last year of high school.”

Illustrations by | Brittany Truong

Feature April 24, 2026

9

Death Becomes Him

Julius Caesar advances to Region in One Act

Top Right: In the role of Julius Caesar, sophomore Jackson Mccutchin, and seniors Veronica Vigliaturo and Jonah Brod act out the conspirator’s murder of Caesar.

Top Left: Senior Gavin Johst, in the role of Brutus, and junior Gracie Scott, in the role of Marc Antony, act out of scene where Antony requests to speak at the funeral of Caesar.

Bottom Left: Looking out at the war, senior Addison Curtis performs a scene as Cassius, where she decides she must sacrifice herself Bottom Right: Warning Caesar of his death, senior Summer Loza plays the role of Soothsayer.

Photos by Samuel Speichinger Hutton Weirich | Reporter After numerous rehearsals, runthroughs, and competitions, the cast and crew of Julius Caesar have advanced to the regional competition.

The One-Act follows a group of conspirators as they kill the mighty Julius Caesar and reap the consequences.

“I think it's just a really important insight to a story in history that a lot of people know of,” sophomore Jackson McCutchin said. “But it's a lot of insight into the lives and true personalities of all the characters and how their relationships were built and got destroyed.”

One of the main conspirators is Cassius, who envies Caesar and hates the close friendship between Brutus and Caesar.

“Cassius is like the conniving instigator of the revolution, kind of against Caesar,” senior Addison Curtis said. “Cassius is the main one who kind of gets all the conspirators together and is the person who convinces Brutus that they need to

kill Caesar.”

On the opposite end, Mark Antony is a member of the empire and close personal friend of Caesar, who initiates revenge on the conspirators later in the play.

“I think that none of the characters in this show are actually good and that keeps people intrigued because it really shows you the duality of man and just how power can corrupt,” junior Gracie Scott said. “And I think power corruption is just really relevant in our times. It always has been since the dawn of democracy and not even democracy but like any type of government ever.”

The show tries to implement moments of intensity, familiarity, and importance to keep audiences engaged.

“I think the most powerful moment is definitely the death of Caesar, because I mean, it's like one of the biggest betrayals in history,” Curtis said. “ And I think it's just like this big, it's kind of like the turning point. Like everything in the first half is

leading up to this and then it happens.”

The cast and crew have been working on this show since February, with multiple after-school and Saturday rehearsals.

“We usually come in, we have an itemized list of points that we want to hit throughout the show and we just kind of go through that list based on like a past rehearsal of things that we think are clean,” Scott said.

“We sometimes take videos of the runs that we do of the show and then we take notes on things and we work on them the next day and just try to keep on building and improving.”

The choosing of the OAP is a process which involves discussion between directors, an audition process, and feedback from the students auditioning.

“I've read Julius Caesar many times as like, ‘oh this could be a possible oneact’ and it had a lot of opportunities for people,” Curtis said. “Especially with a Shakespeare show where there's war elements and there's like fighting, it's kind

of interesting because it's like, how do you condense this big story into 40 minutes?”

Julius Caesar has a handful of main characters and a large acting ensemble, which can sometimes be rare in OAP competitions.

“It's nice because, you know, you get to build a lot of teamwork and relationships with a lot of people,” McCutchin said. “It's very, like, you know, every person on stage matters and it's not just focused on one person at all times.”

After all of this, the cast and crew show off their work in the UIL OAP competitions, ultimately leading them to their current region-bound status.

“I don't feel anxiety when we get to competition; it kind of feels like a family when we're all just like together and enjoying each other's time,” Scott said.

“We're just there to make art, and you get to bond with other schools, and you know that everybody's put in a lot of time, and it's a great environment, honestly. I love it.”

10

Sports Volume 19, Issue 6

Track athletes build momentum late in season Nate Wilkerson | Reporter The track season has been going on for a while and is nearing its end. There have been highlights and lots of memorable moments that have been shared within the track team this season.

“So far, things have been going pretty good,” junior Victor Onwenu said. “We’re around two meets away from our district meet, and we’ve been getting a lot of improvements throughout the season in different aspects.”

The improvements that the track team has shown can stem from the frequent practice that they put in as a whole.

“Sometimes when the coaches aren’t available as I’m a jumper, we can open up the sandpit and practice, getting runthroughs or making sure our marks are correct,” Onwenu said. “It helps get

practice with mic marks and lets me know that I’m accurate when I’m running so that I can be more confident during the meets.”

Following on track meets, they stick to a very different format from other general sports like basketball or football. Even with this, the structure of the meets might be why some people prefer track over other sports.

“In track, meets go on for a very long time, sometimes ending at eleven, so we just skipped the entire day of school which is pretty nice,” Onwenu said. “I also like how during events like relays, you have to be in sync with the other people around you.”

Even though some athletes might like this, it does add a lot of school work that the people attending the event miss and

have to make up for in their free time.

“Since track meetings are now before school, I have to cut my time for homework a lot shorter than usual as I have to wake up earlier,” Onwenu said. “We also have a set day, usually Thursdays, for track meets, in which I have to miss school and sometimes certain tests.”

While track is a very mixed sport, with tons of people doing different events, all of their work and performances in the meet come in together at the end to determine the final scoring and who came out on top.

“During track meets towards the end when the points get tallied up for each team, it can get to a really close match,” Onwenu said. “This makes it really competitive, one race could determine whether we get first or second.”

Softball team prepares for key match ups

Landon Green | Reporter The softball season is still ongoing this year, and players are getting ready to go up against their closest competitors, Weiss and Pflugerville “This year we are definitely doing much better,” senior Brooke Davis said. We’ve known each other for a pretty long time now, so we’ve just been doing a lot better at games and practices”.

This year the team expresses their thoughts of their playing and opponents.

“We have a one hundred percent chance of going to the playoffs,” senior Peyton Shroyer said.“ We are playing really well this season. The only worry I have is

Pflugerville or Weiss.”

The team talks about the playoffs and their worries.

“I joined softball because I was just really bored in 8th and I wanted to try something new, and I picked softball,” Davis said. “The hardest mountain I’ve had to fight is just fighting for a spot. For this season I just want to be there for my team whenever they need me,” Practice is everyday Monday through Friday. Sometimes at practice they hit the weight room and some days they just go to the field where they split up batting, field and then rotate and do team talks.

“We normally hit off of tees and off the pitching machine and then our coach will always hit balls and make us catch them,” senior Peyton Shroyer said. “We also do reps and just get ready for a game.”

For a lot of players this is their last season playing softball, so trying their best to be the best player they can.

“I just want to be better for my team and do what’s best for all of us and not just for me,” senior Alyssa Howe said. ”And I just want to have fun, too because it’s my last year doing it.”

Junior Morgan Nelsen runs ahead of the competition.

Photo By Kaidence Hardy

Junior Noah Birt runs against competitors.

Photo By Kaidence Hardy

Freshman Leah Trevino swings bat.

Photo By Ryleigh Mackey

Baseball team shares their experience and goals in the ongoing season Faris Hamad | Reporter

Brayden Borger, 11.

“A goal for this season would just be making the playoffs as that’s always a goal. We have throughout the season just consistently making the playoffs and making a run for district. It’s gonna be tough battling a bunch of other great teams in our district, but we’ll try our best, give it all we got and whatever happens happens.”

Coach David Neelley “it’s a hard-working group, you know, we’ve had our bumps and bruises of learning how to work together but they’ve also shown a lot of adversity as a team.” Coach David Neelley said

Coach David Neelley “Dylan McLarty has really shown to be a terror on the bases. He’s a courtesy runner for most of the time and he’ll get out there and I can pretty much tell him to steal on any account he’ll be successful.

“Coach David Neelley said Logan Clark, 12.

“I’ve improved a lot physically and mentally from last season. We’ve been in the weight room constantly day in and day out, on the field, day in and day out, but I also feel like I’m more confident on making it to the playoffs.” senior Logan Clark said.”

Senior Cole McCrackens swings at the pitch Photo By Charles Stedman

Junior Jake Laake prepares to go to bat.

Photo By Charles Stedman

Sports April 24, 2026

11

Boys soccer navigates challenging season Marcos Hans | Editor The boys soccer team completed its regular season while managing injuries, player absences, and a schedule that included multiple tough opponents.

Despite these challenges, the team continued to compete throughout the season.

“The regular season was good,” head coach Jacob Stern said. “We had a lot of struggles, but the team kept working through them.”

Preparation for the playoffs required adjustments due to the games being during break, with coaches having to balance practice schedules along with time off for players.

“Soccer playoffs are difficult to prepare for because they are during spring break,”

Stern said “You have to manage giving players time off while also making sure they’re practicing enough to perform well.”

The team’s roster included a group of senior players who contributed to on-field performance and team structure, while underclassmen gained varsity experience over the course of the season.

“This year there was a lot of senior leadership,” Stern said. “It helped the younger players grow.”

Team play this season emphasized speed, both individually and in overall pace of play.

“This was the fastest team we’ve had,” Stern said. “Not just individually, but our overall playing speed made it difficult for other teams to keep up.”

Several players recorded notable performances during the season. Senior Mateo Palma (#17) was named district MVP. Goalkeeper Yul Kim (#21) recorded seven district shutouts. Junior Pedro Araujo Kermanar (#23) and senior Alex Monroe (#16) played key roles on defense, while senior forward Jaden Musgrove (#19) contributed offensively.

Looking ahead, players including Elyjuch Martinez (#7), Jordan Adedayo (#18), Kevin Griffin (#22), Daniel Rozvodovskyi (#26), and Paulo Albadan (#5) are expected to return and take on larger roles.

“I remind them of all the hard work they’ve put in,” Stern said “and encourage them to earn the rewards of that effort.”

Senior Mateo Palma dribbling the ball.

Photo By Ryleigh Mackey

The soccer team gets a motivational talk before the game.

Photo By Ryleigh Mackey

Powerlifting season ends with state title Marcelo Molina | Reporter With the powerlifting season coming to a close in late March, the team had 23 regional qualifiers and 6 state qualifiers.

Training for these powerlifters started in December and continued until the post season around early March.

Powerlifting is an entirely strengthbased sport focused on lifters completing a one-rep max in squat, bench, and deadlift to accumulate the highest total weight lifted in their weight class. Lifters have the choice to either lift equipped with supportive equipment, or unequipped with very minimal equipment. The Texas organization in charge of running high school powerlifting is the Texas High School Powerlifting Association, or THSPA. “This is a competitive sport just like any other sport on this campus”, head powerlifting coach Peter Noonan said.

“We train to compete, and we want everybody and anybody that’s willing to put in work.”

THSPA added unequipped male powerlifting to their competitions this season. For over 25 years, Texas high school powerlifting has been strictly only equipped lifting. The introduction of unequipped lifting brings a new environment of competition and a new aspect of training programs.

“The concept is the same for accumulating the most you can for the three lifts, and how you go about that is going to be different,” Noonan said. “So you might have minimal gear, but just because you have minimal equipment doesn’t mean that everybody is the exact same.”

The powerlifting training program is based on the heaviest weight you can lift for only one repetition. Thus, training sessions involve primarily heavy sets for a lower amount of repetitions, while still including accessory work to target other muscles.

“The training program was good,” senior Larry Woodrum said. “It was consistent squat, bench, and deadlift days and then a day combining all three.”

The powerlifting team had 12 girls qualify for regionals, with 5 being unequipped lifters and 7 being equipped lifters. Of these 12, 2 qualified for state.

“The girls seemed pretty fresh this year,“ senior Rebecca Burkhard said. “I would say overall we performed well and placed well.”

Of the two that qualified for state, both were equipped lifters, and only one lifted.

Senior Spencer Waggoner suffered an injury during a Friday soccer match the day before the girl’s state meet. Thus, only senior Ryan Doggett lifted, where she

won the 148lbs equipped weight class and earned her 3rd state championship.

“I won, which is a really big relief,” Doggett said. ”I also had a really nice community there to support me, which was great.”

On the boys side, 11 powerlifters qualified for regionals, with 7 being unequipped lifters and 4 being equipped lifters.

“I knew this team had potential to do something big this year and,” senior Artis Duncan said. “Our unity truly helped us seize every opportunity.”

Of those 11 who competed at regionals, 4 advanced to the state meet. However, 1 of the 4 lifters ‘DQ-ed’, or was disqualified, for technical reasons in one of his squat attempts.

“Three of us placed in the top ten,” senior Tristan Espinoza said. “We also had a great community surrounding us.”

The next season will bring a new group of powerlifters, and with a new group of powerlifters comes new opportunities to apply improvements from the previous season.

“I think everybody as a whole could continue to pressure everybody to get all the work in,” junior Major Dominguez said. “Instead of goofing off a little bit sometimes like we do now.”

Senior Ryan Doggett squats at state.

Photo By Coach Peter Noonan

Senior Artis Duncan prepares to perform a squat.

Photo By Marcelo Molina

12

Entertainment Volume 19, Issue 6

Hot Takes and Popular Debates

Students determine most common polarizing topics

Hutton Weirich | Editor

Out of a poll of 237

Night showers or morning showers?

Team Edward or Team Jacob?

51.2%

70.5

48.8%

29.5

Night

Team Edward

Morning

Team Jacob

Do fries taste good dipped in milkshakes?

Was the dress blue or gold?

70.7%

69.3%

29.3%

30.7%

Yes

Blue & Black

No

White & Gold Did Stranger Things have a good ending?

The Oscars or The Grammys?

20.4%

42.9%

79.6%

57.1%

The Oscars

Yes

The Grammys

No

Halloween or Christmas?

Dogs or Cats?

70.3%

30.6%

29.7%

69.4%

Halloween

Dogs

Christmas

Cats

Is it better to be hot or cold?

Coffee or Tea?

56.1%

25.8%

43.9%

74.2%

Coffee Tea

Hot

Cold