Kerrville Public School Foundation establishes four Zunker family scholarships as it approaches its 40th year

The four Zunker family scholarships will be permanent.

That was the word the Kerrville Public School Foundation’s board used when it approved the scholarships this year — permanent, not annual, not pilot. The Zunker family was lost together in the July 4, 2025, flood. The foundation’s response was to make sure their names are attached to students in this school district as long as the foundation operates.

Reese Zunker’s scholarship will support students in career and technical education and construction. Paula Jo Zunker’s will honor students in community service. Lyle Zunker’s will go to student-athletes. Holland Zunker’s will support fine arts students.

Executive Director Sarah Baetz and Board President Courtney Compton appeared Wednesday on Lead Live’s Nonprofit Week, 2026 marking the foundation’s 39th year of operation heading into its 40th anniversary in 2027.

The foundation’s core structure is built around a 19-person working board — one of the largest in the region — that identifies gaps in state education funding and fills them through two primary grant mechanisms. Instant Impact grants support immediate classroom needs: supplies, technology, tools that a teacher would otherwise purchase personally. Innovative Teaching grants fund larger programmatic initiatives that push instruction beyond standard curriculum.

A new partnership with San Antonio’s Tobin Center is now piloting a Gifted and Talented Arts Integration Program within Kerrville ISD. The program brings world-class performing arts education into direct contact with the district’s most advanced students.

KPSF’s most important operating principle, Baetz said, is finding the gap and filling it. State funding formulas cannot anticipate every need. Local donors, organized through a working board that includes community members who know exactly what those needs look like, can.

The Tailgating and Trivia Night fundraiser — themed around Kerrville history and co-hosted with Mayor Bill Herring — is Oct. 3 at the Inn of the Hills. Tickets are $75.

kpsf.net.