A Bexar County Sheriff’s deputy has been suspended after an internal investigation found he advised the son of Somerset Independent School District’s superintendent to delete explicit photos and a video of a female classmate off his phone.

Somerset Independent School District says it will return to 100% in-person learning next school year.

SAN ANTONIO – Somerset High School teacher Terry White was concerned about returning to campus in the fall because of COVID-19. Still, White returned to the classroom, but his son stayed home, learning virtually until COVID-19 testing started. The non-profit organization Community Labs began conducting mass testing for COVID-19 at Somerset ISD in September. Somerset ISD Superintendent Saul Hinojosa said when they first started testing, about 39% of students were learning in-person, and now it’s about 70%. Hinojosa said Community Labs will be testing at Somerset ISD until the end of the school year.

San Antonio – Bexar County Commissioners voted Tuesday to send $2 million in Coronavirus Relief Funds to help a nonprofit expand its COVID-19 testing program to additional schools. The nonprofit started a pilot program in the Somerset Independent School District on Sep. 23, beginning with testing athletes and staff at Somerset High School. “So not only can high school students do it. A San Antonio Independent School District spokeswoman said it would like to be prioritized for the next testing pilot. Community Labs has also partnered with the City of San Antonio to offer testing for asymptomatic people.

SOMERSET, Texas – A new nonprofit is conducting mass testing for COVID-19 at the Somerset Independent School District to get students back into the classroom safely. Somerset ISD received the testing service for free as part of the nonprofit’s pilot program. Last week, more than 200 Somerset High School students and staff members were tested for COVID-19. Somerset ISD Superintendent Saul Hinojosa said testing is only mandatory for students participating in extracurricular activities and are required to travel outside of the school. “It’s only mandatory for any students who participate in extracurricular activities being that they travel.”Hinojosa said around 1,600 of the 4,100 students enrolled at Somerset ISD are back in classrooms for in-person learning.

San Antonio – More than 3,600 Texas teachers are getting a boost in pay for the next five years. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced Tuesday its inaugural Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) list, which was made possible with the passage of House Bill 3 in 2019. Teacher pay is based on a teacher’s designation level of master, exemplary or recognized. The districts must use at least 90% of the funds on teacher pay. Dr. Saul Hinojosa, superintendent of Somerset ISD, said the pay increase is life-changing for some of his teachers.

SAN ANTONIO Virtual learning requires internet access, having the necessary computer equipment and knowing how to use it. Virtual learning can have its challenges, and those issues have recently presented themselves, especially in the smaller school districts. Southside Independent School District has given out 500 hot spots and over 5,000 Chromebooks or iPads for students. But it is not just smaller districts that face virtual learning challenges. North Side Independent School District, one of the biggest school districts in our area, announced today that they are having issues with its login portal.

SOMERSET, Texas Rural school districts are facing unique challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic as students start the fall semester. About 90% of students ride the bus at Somerset Independent School District, which is about 87 square miles and crosses into Atascosa County. Of the total 4,300 students enrolled in the district, 10% do not have internet access for online learning. Thats a very different response to what families in the Navarro Independent School District want, according to Superintendent Wendi Russell. Logistically, both superintendents agreed that rural school districts have fewer students to spread out, which is an advantage in this case.

A wall of the Somerset Early Childhood Elementary’s library is bare after district officials took down a religious display on Monday due to a complaint from the American Humanist Association. On Friday, American Humanist Association Legal Director Monica Miller sent a letter to Principal Sara Gonzales and Superintendent Dr. Saul Hinojosa. “Our office was recently notified of a flagrant constitutional violation that is occurring under the authority of your school and school district,” Miller wrote in the letter. The poster in question at Somerset Early Childhood Elementary. Somerset Early Childhood Elementary educates students from pre-K through Kindergarten.