San Marcos hears HUD‑mandated point‑in‑time update; schools report 105 students in housing insecurity

San Marcos City Council on April 21 received a briefing on the 2026 point‑in‑time (PIT) homelessness count conducted by the Hays County Homeless Coalition and heard McKinney‑Vento school‑district figures that show 105 school‑age children in San Marcos were identified as experiencing or at risk of homelessness when the school year began.

Nancy Heights of the Hays County Homeless Coalition explained that the PIT is a HUD‑mandated snapshot taken in January and that it counts unsheltered and sheltered people using volunteers and observational methods. “This is a national count that’s done on the same week,” Heights said, describing limitations including weather, volunteer safety and the fact that observation entries are folded into the unsheltered totals.

Lisa Young, coalition co‑chair, told council members that school‑district data add crucial context to PIT figures. “This number…is one of the most important numbers of this presentation because it provides so much more context,” Young said, referring to the 105 school‑age children identified in San Marcos under McKinney‑Vento reporting.

Coalition members urged the city to help expand local participation in the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), saying broader HMIS coverage would improve referrals, coordinated entry and grant competitiveness. The coalition estimated individual HMIS licenses cost in the “$450 range.”

Hayden Miguel, San Marcos director of administrative services, said staff could move quickly on that request: “We can fulfill that request very quickly. We still have about, I think it’s about $9,600 in coronavirus relief funds that are actually freed up,” he said, and staff will present a simplified application at the May homeless coalition meeting.

Presenters also suggested the city explore Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs; coalition representatives said a Notice of Funding Opportunity may drop in July and that ESG could fund prevention and supportive services.

Council members asked whether year‑to‑year changes in McKinney‑Vento or PIT numbers would immediately affect funding. Heights and Young said single‑year fluctuations can reflect reporting changes or community conditions — for example, fear of enforcement actions can reduce willingness to answer surveys — and are not necessarily direct triggers for funding shifts.

The council received the report and requested follow‑up information on ESG eligibility and the coalition’s raw data reports; no policy vote or funding appropriation occurred at the meeting.