Last spring, 116 students from the Hays CISD were recognized with the Linebarger Academic Award, which, in addition to the prestige for scholastic achievement it signals, came with a $100 gift card.

This year there will be only 53 to achieve that recognition, and whether there’s a cash award is anyone’s guess.

That’s because the Hays CISD Education Foundation, which bestows the awards, changed the eligibility this year from the top 10 percent of the graduating classes of Hays and...