LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dear San Marcos Record Editors,
Greetings! My name is Ash Knutson, and I’m writing to share a critical development concerning transparency and public accountability within the San Marcos CISD that I believe deserves wider community attention.
On March 10, 2025, I submitted a Texas Public Information Act (TPIA) request to SMCISD. My request was straightforward and lawful: I sought resignation letters, policy documents, and internal communications related to recent staffing reductions. The purpose of this request was simple—to better understand decisions affecting our local schools and ensure they were made fairly, ethically, and in line with state law.
However, what followed was not a clear or timely effort to fulfill the request. Instead, the district’s legal counsel informed the Texas Attorney General’s Office (OAG) that my request had been “automatically withdrawn by operation of law.” In other words, SMCISD tried to argue that I had forfeited my right to the information due to a technicality—despite my documented and timely responses throughout the process.
Fortunately, the Office of the Attorney General disagreed.
In its ruling (OR2025020736), the OAG clearly stated that my request had not been withdrawn and that SMCISD must release the documents that are not protected by specific legal exemptions. This ruling not only upholds my rights as a requestor— it upholds the rights of all community members who rely on transparency to hold public institutions accountable.
This matters because access to public records is not a bureaucratic formality. It is a safeguard that allows families, educators, and citizens to understand how decisions are made— especially when those decisions affect people’s jobs, students’ classrooms, and taxpayer resources.
I believe the San Marcos community deserves better than delays, obstruction, or attempts to avoid scrutiny. We deserve honest answers. We deserve transparency.
Thank you for the opportunity to share this update. I hope it encourages others to stay informed, stay engaged, and speak up when our institutions fall short of the openness they owe the public.
Sincerely, Ash Knutson San Marcos Resident & Public Information Advocate
