HUNT, Texas – One of the region’s top academically performing school districts sits in the heart of the Hill Country flood recovery zone: the Hunt Independent School District.
Students returned to class just weeks after the devastating July 4, 2025, flood that killed 119 people in Kerr County, including two children who would have been students in the district, incoming Hunt ISD Superintendent Sarah Nichols said.
“It started out extremely hard,” Nichols told KSAT. “There was a lot of unknown. We didn’t know what we were getting into. We didn’t know what was coming.”
Nichols said the goal early on was stability for students still processing trauma.
“Academics is essentially on the back burner until a student’s well-being is taken care of,” Nichols said. “And so, just trying to navigate — making sure we were addressing the whole child.”
Nichols said students pushed through difficult moments as the school year unfolded, including the first storms after the disaster.
“There were some hard days. There were some hard weeks,” Nichols said. “But for the most part, they were impressive at how they pushed through, how they pushed through the first thunderstorm.”
Hunt ISD Superintendent Luci Harmon, who is retiring and wrapping up a 35-year career in education, said the district’s approach was to take care of people first and trust academics would follow.
According to Harmon, the community’s response made that possible thanks to families and neighbors organizing special events and support for children.
“We took good care of our adults, and they took care of business, just staying focused on instruction and doing what they needed to do to make our kids be successful,” Harmon said. “So, it really wasn’t a year lost instructionally.”
Nichols credited the broader community for “pouring into” the district, including educators-in-training from nearby Schreiner University who helped teachers maintain instruction during a difficult year.
Hunt ISD also found ways to honor the two children killed in the flood. During the dedication of the district’s new gym, staff memorialized the students by placing their signatures — saved from schoolwork — onto the gym floor.
“He had the idea of having Renee and Lyle sign the floors,” a staff member said. “So, we still had some of their student work. So, this is actually their signatures.”
Renee Smajstrla would have entered third grade and Lyle Zunker would have entered second grade. Two annual awards will now be given in their memory to students who exemplify love, joy and courage, district leaders said.
Despite the trauma that touched nearly every family in the area, the small rural district grew last school year, by local standards, from 195 students to 217.
Harmon became emotional describing what the school and community built together after the flood.
“I wish every community could come and see how this community loves this school,” Harmon said. “This is how it should be.”
Nichols said her goal as she steps into the role is to protect that culture and keep families moving forward.
More recent Hill Country Floods coverage on KSAT: