A Special meeting was hosted by Devine School Board members on Monday, June 6, 2022 to consider and hire a New Athletic Director, along with approving the Instruction Materials Allotment and TEKS Certification for 2022-23 School Year presented by Todd Grandjean. A 4-0 vote was passed by Henry Moreno, Keri James, Ali Buvinghausen, and Nancy Pepper to name Jim Sessions as the New AD. Jim Sessions’ professional career spans from a secondary math teacher 1997-2003 to his present position as a technology applications teacher at Devine High School 2003-Present. He has been an assistant coach in volleyball, cross country, track, golf, basketball, and softball. He was also the head softball coach in 2000-2004 and presently the Head Girls Basketball coach since 2003. Jim hit 400 wins this past year in basketball. Sessions also has been the Technology/Hudl Specialists for Athletics from 2003 to present. Sessions has been a Finalist for the Dean Weese Coach of the Year Award given by TABC in 2022. His 25 years has been spent here in Devine teaching and coaching since 1997. He is a former Devine athlete, and he continues to show a passion for his hometown and has helped maintain the tradition of success for those at Devine ISD, just like his parents Don and Gayle Sessions and sister Neva who all devoted their time and careers to Devine ISD. When asked how excited he was about his new position “I am VERY VERY excited to be given this opportunity by Dr Grandjean and the school board members.” Sessions takes over from Chad Quisenberry who announced in March his retirement after 28 years with Devine ISD (1994-2022). Session’s mother Gayle Sessions was the DISD Girls Athletic Director back when there were two athletic directors, one for the girls and one for the boys in the Devine ISD. Jim Sessions will take over the reins of the Athletic Director position to oversee the girls and boys athletic programs. “I am proud of him and I know he will do everything he can to keep the Devine Athletic program successful and respected by the Devine community and area schools and coaches,” said his mother Gayle Sessions. Gayle coached in Devine 34 years (3 in MS and 31 HS) and became girls Athletic Director around 1980. She later gave up her successful position to move to Tennessee so she and Don could take care of her elderly parents, like she promised she would do. Jim’s Notable Achievements: 25 years in education. 5 years as head softball coach. 5 consecutive years in the playoffs for softball with multiple playoff wins and one State Tournament appearance (Runner Up 2000). 19 years as head girls’ basketball coach. His first win this past year was his #400 win! 19 consecutive years in the playoffs for girls’ basketball with multiple playoff wins and six appearances in the Regional Tournament. Finalist for the Dean Weese Coach of the Year Award given by TABC (2022). Certifications include PE PK-12, Health Education 6-12, Mathematics 6-12, Technology Applications 8-12 and Principal EC-12. Education: UTSA Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology (1997), University of North Texas Tech Apps Certification (2003) and Texas A&M Kingsville Masters of Science in Educational Administration (2013).
Sheriff Randy Brown shares the realities of how deputies are already spread thin across our growing county.
In the wake of the May 24 shooting massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde that left 19 students and two teachers dead, administrators from the several Medina County school districts met with county commissioners to request funding for 1 additional school resource officer be assigned to every school district. Eric Smith, president of the Natalia school board, led the presentation made during a June 2 regular session of the commissioners’ court. “I will not throw out fancy stats or figures on school shootings in the U.S. or Uvalde,” Smith said. “I’m pretty sure each of us is aware and it makes us, including me, sick to our stomachs every time we turn on the news.” Also speaking for the gathered administrators was Shannon Beasley, vice president of the Medina Valley school board. “It touches us deeply and is what we as trustees and stewards of our students consider the worst nightmare,” Beasley said. David Lynch, precinct 2 commissioner, led the meeting in the absence of County Judge Chris Schuchart. He emphasized that the SRO request had been added to the court’s agenda solely as a matter of discussion. “This is not an action item,” he said. “We want to hear your concerns and maybe have a little dialogue.” “We are all products of Medina County schools,” Lynch added.” Our wives are products of Medina County schools. Our children, our grandchildren are too. So, we understand the need for security and safety as a foremost priority.” “Also we have been on the phone with Pete Flores and Andrew Murr, who said ‘We have State funding….funding that nobody ever asks for. So that may be another piece to this puzzle,” Lynch said. He said he was sure Judge Schuchart would want to be on hand for any final decision by the commissioners. Medina County Sheriff Randy Brown verified that the county at present has six SROs for the entire county, which are all placed at Medina Valley ISD schools. The cost to add a single new officer on board, including training and vehicle, could be nearly $130,000, he estimated. For seven, that’s a little under $1 million dollars ($910,000). “We need to stop calling them SROs,” Brown said. “They are not school resource officers. We need police in the schools that can do the job.” Even with immediate approval of such a hire, finding the right person to fill the role will be difficult, he said. “If we can figure out how to do this I support you 100 percent,” Brown said. “I don’t know where the money is going to come from but our greatest treasurers are in those school buildings.” “When I was driving back from Uvalde that night, I started checking into costs,” Sheriff Brown said. “We’ve got to do everything we can to make schools are safe as we can for everyone.” Sheriff stated that “With all the growth in the county, it’s just unbelievable the number of calls we have.” He noted that he would like to have 7 more deputies on staff. He also stated that in the future he would like to see deputies in schools countywide. “I don’t need somebody in the schools that calls us. I need somebody in the school that IS us. I know a lot of school districts have approached us and would like to have a deputy on campus.” “I guarantee you if something happens, we’ll be there. …It’s hard to say we are going to be there in 5 minutes though if we are all the way up on Hwy 16. Someday, I am going to have enough people to divide the county into 4 different quadrants,” he said in hopes that he can have deputies better positioned to help when an emergency arises. Towards the end of his speech, Sheriff Brown commented, “We can talk and talk and talk….but we need to stop talking and do something.” Sheriff Brown mentioned there is a COPS grant that has a deadline of June 9, but felt it may be too late for locals to apply. (see separate article) On hand from Devine ISD were superintendent Todd Grandjean, assistant high school principal Daryl Wendel, school board president Nancy Pepper, board member Ali Buvinghausen and financial resource officer Shannon Ramirez, Harry Piles of Natalia ISD. Board members from the various districts were also present. Superintendent Grandjean commented that Devine has instituted the Guardian program (which allows certain staff to carry a concealed weapon), and that regional training for other local districts is available. Smith opened his presentation with a detailed breakdown of the security presently available at schools throughout the county. “When you look at the six districts here today the largest is Medina Valley with over 7,500 children and eight different campuses, six of which have school resource officers paid for by Medina Valley ISD,” Smith said. Hondo ISD has one police officer funded by the school district and another locally funded through the city of Hondo, he said. Devine has one SRO officer who travels between all campuses as needed, and the expense is shared by the city, with a majority covered by the school. Like Devine, Hondo is part of the Texas School Guardian Program, an armed defensive approach to active shooters on campus. Although D’Hanis ISD also has the Guardian program, the district does not include an incorporated city and does not have a school resource officer. Natalia ISD has one police officer from city police but funded by the district. The district cut short its school year following a Natalia student being charged with terroristic threat. Lytle ISD has one Medina County sheriff’s deputy who is funded by the school district at a cost of $60,000 annually, Smith said. “I was happy when I reached out to those six districts that represent Medina County public schools educating 12,000 children and employing over 2,000 staff,” Smith said. “They were in full support of why I am here.” He noted that this was the second time he had made this request for his school district. “Several years ago I requested that you would consider looking into possibly giving some kind of tax reduction to offset appraisals that we know you do not control but to try and offset the cost,” Smith said. The decision at that time was not to go forward with a tax reduction scheme, he said. “I will not criticize the decision you make in regard to our (latest) request,” Smith said. “I would just ask that you remember 51,000 residents in our county that have 12,000 relatives attending these schools.” He added that what was being requested was not a luxury “but a necessity.” But, even at that, additional SROs “would not be an end-all solution and would not guarantee our children would not be in harm’s way.” Following Smith’s presentation, Beasley said Medina Valley ISD has had a strong focus on school safety since 2018. However, discussing in detail security measures in place is not in the best interest of the students. “Unfortunately, what the media portrays is often not the whole story,” Beasley said. “As any of us elected officials know often things happen that we can’t talk about.” Commissioners emphasized that the fund balance might look like an easy source of funding when things are going good. However, circumstances can change quickly. That healthy fund balance might make the difference between personnel layoffs or funding important projects, they noted. “We’re not saying no to anything but our fund balance and the shape that it is in is very important to the commissioners,” Lynch said. “Trying to meet your needs and desires without affecting that is something we’ll have to work through.” A one-time expense using the fund balance is one thing, he said. However, SRO officers are an ongoing expense. “That revenue flow is going to have to come from somewhere and it will be the taxpayers that fund that ultimately,” Lynch said. Beyond county and district funding to initially hire new SROs, permanent funding may be available from the state. Lynch and Larry Sittre, precinct 2 commissioner, said they had been in touch with state Rep. Andrew Murr and state representative candidate Pete Flores about the issue. “They feel that this is a state funding issue so they would like for representatives of the school districts to reach out and ask for the money,” Lynch said. Sittre stated, “This commissioners court is probably more pro fund the police than anyone….Pete Flores sent me an article. He sent me a $100 million package that’s been in place for 2 years. In the meantime I contacted Andrew Murr this weekend. The $100 million is available. He said to give them his phone number…..Fill out the paperwork. That’s a fast start, instead of waiting for anyone to okay something in Austin, which I know is probably never gonna take place.” In reference to last week’s newspaper, which discussed the county’s recent $2.1 million purchase of two new buildings, Sittre noted, “On the $2.1 million spending here, This has nothing to do with the budget, whatsoever. We can’t use that as budget money.” He also noted that the county’s most recent Audit, which was presented the county a few weeks ago, presents information about county funds from the fiscal year that ended in 2021, (which was noted in the article). In reference to state funding that Flores and Murr mentioned, Beasley replied that it was unsure if that state funding would go to the counties or directly to the districts. Smith noted that hundreds of districts in the state have no SROs whatsoever, making them the most likely candidates for early funding. “The way we look at it what we can do today gives us the time to figure this out later,” Smith said. “Even if it is just one year (from the county) it gives us time to go after the state, go after whoever we need to and get extra funding.” According to Sittre, the funds being targeted from the county to pay for the added SROs would require voter approval under current property tax law. “This isn’t a one-time thing of ‘I’ll give you $100,000, $200,000 or a half million dollars and it’s over with,” Sittre said. “That money is not in the budget.” Commisioners Nueman, Lynch and Beck all suggested having workshop or round table sessions between county and school district officials to resolve the issue. In other action, the commissioners acted various subdivision development projects including preliminary approval of The Enclave at Potranco Oaks, unit 2, located in Precinct 2 off Potranco Road. The commissioners also approved phase three of Hunter’s Ranch subdivision located in Precinct 2 off Potranco Road. Final approval of Hunter’s Ranch subdivision units nine and 11 off FM 1957 pending action by San Antonio officials was okayed by commissioners. Also, units one and two of the Boehme Ranch subdivision in Precinct 2 off County Road 466 received court approval. The court voted to accept a $1 million construction bond for Valley Oaks subdivision, phase 1, in Precinct 1 off CR 241. Also approved was a replat of several lots in the Valentine Ranch subdivision, phase 1, in precinct 1 off Park Road 37. Likewise, the commissioners gave preliminary approval to replat several lots in the San Martin Hills subdivision, unit 2, located in Precinct 1 off CR 241. Regarding Medina County Emergency Services District No. 1 in Castroville, the commissioners voted to approved the resignation of Pamela Mathis to be replaced by Jenny Ferren.
Keith McLemore, human resources and compensation consultant for the Texas Association of School Boards told trustees that nearly 60 percent of school district in the state participated in the review, including nearly 90 percent of the state’s largest districts.
By Anton Riecher An estimated pay increase somewhere between $172,216 and $255,349 for Devine ISD school teachers is recommended in a Texas Association of School Boards pay system review presented to the Devine school board May 16. No action was taken at the meeting. Keith McLemore, human resources and compensation consultant for the Texas Association of School Boards told trustees that nearly 60 percent of school district in the state participated in the review, including nearly 90 percent of the state’s largest districts. “The good news is you all are in good shape,” McLemore said. “The market is moving very quickly right now.” Two separate models aimed at keeping Devine ISD competitive in the hiring of teachers, administrators, clerical and auxiliary personnel called for an estimated total increase above current costs of between $371,516 (2.8 percent) and $501,231 (3.8 percent). The increase includes both a general salary increase and salary adjustments to bring various job descriptions in line with other competing districts. “Once we get done matching your jobs and getting the market data together we realign your pay structures,” McLemore said. “If there aren’t any pay structures in place you’re building from scratch.” For administrators, the suggested total increase ranged from $71,132 to $100,579, including salary adjustments. Recommendations for clerical employees ranged from $79,419 to $87,278. Salary increases for auxiliary help ranged from $48,749 to $58,025. Pay system objectives include establishing competitive salaries for new and experienced employees to aid in recruitment, he said. It also helps retain employees by preventing overpayment or underpayment based on job value. Strategies in developing pay system control involve assessing job value accurately, keeping pay ranges competitive, controlling the pay spread between job incumbents, accelerate employees to market pay and budget sufficiently for pay increases, he said. Of four sets of recommendations included in the study, the leading recommendation urged implementation of pay structure adjustments to align with market value, including strong starting salaries and salary midpoints aligned with the market place. The review also recommended a general pay increase of two to three percent for all job groups to maintain the district’s market position. For teachers, a general pay increase should be calculated as a percentage of market median salary. For other pay groups, GPI should be calculated as a percentage of an employee’s pay grade midpoint, McLemore said. The review further recommends that the district provide salary adjustments to address market differences and maintain equity. To do that, salaries should be at least one percent above minimum with targeted pay equity and scale adjustments included. Finally, the review recommends increasing stipends for hard-to-fill teaching assignments, such as: • Math/Science: $500 increase times 12 teachers totaling $16,000. • Special Education: $400 increase times eight teachers totaling $3,200. • Life Skills: $1,500 increase times six teachers totaling $9,000. • Bilingual Teachers: $400 increase (number needed varies). For purposes of the review, Devine ISD was compared to 13 other districts – Charlotte, Dilly, Edgewood, Hondo, Lytle, Medina Valley, Natalia, Pearsall, Pleasanton, Poteet, Somerset and Southside. Selection was based on similarities in market value and district goals, the review states. After McLemore’s presentation, Board President Nancy Pepper stated that he had given them a lot to think about, and the board moved onto the next agenda item.
Devine High School assistant principal Steve Anderson making a presentation to the Devine school board on May 16 as part of a required public hearing on the district’s accelerated instruction program. The photo shows Anderson addressing the school board with board members Renee Frieda and Henry Moreno in the background.
By Anton Riecher Many of the new requirements for accelerated instruction approved by the Texas Legislature in 2021 caused less difficulty for the Devine ISD than other school districts, high school assistant principal Steve Anderson told the Devine school board May 16. “House Bill 4545 caught everybody by surprise but it didn’t affect us as whole lot because we’ve done a lot of this anyway,” Anderson said. The school board agenda included an annual public hearing on the high school’s accelerated instruction program. HB 4545, effective as of June 2021, established new requirements for accelerated instruction for students who fail to pass the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). Any student who chooses to retake a required course is entitled to accelerated instruction as required by the new legislation. “They kind of made it mandatory to do some acceleration for the kiddos that didn’t pass the STAAR test,” Anderson said. At Devine High School, students are eligible for dual credit programs in which an eligible high school student enrolls in college courses and receives credit from both the college and high school. Dual credit courses for both academic and technical courses may be taught on the high school campus by an approved instructor. “There are eleventh and twelfth graders that get the 12 hours of English, six hours of U.S. history, then government and economics that adds up to 24 hours,” Anderson said. The district also offers College Board Advance Placement Program (AP) examinations for topics such as biology, world history and others. One major advance for the local school district is Devine High School is now a testing center for academic, career and technical education courses. “It used to be a big headache organizing a trip to take kids to the testing center,” Anderson said. “We can actually do that here now.” However, changes forced by HB 4545 did impact the district negatively in one specialized subject – welding. “We don’t have dual credit for welding anymore,” Anderson said. “The college board came out with a new rule or law that basically said that all ag teachers that taught welding couldn’t do it anymore unless they had a master’s degree.” Otherwise, the district met most of the new requirements under HB 4545, he said. “If you basically fail the STAAR EOC (end-of-course) test then that summer or next year you’ve got to get 30 hours of acceleration for mediation, basically,” Anderson said. “We’re kind of already doing that for the most part so it wasn’t hard for us to implement.” For example, at high school ninth graders are tested in English, biology and algebra, he said. During sophomore year the student take English II and, during the junior year, U.S. history. “So they’ve got five tests and they have to pass those to graduate for the most part,” Anderson said. “There are some exceptions but if they fail any of those classes they’ve got to get 30 hours of mediation, which was hard last year because HB 4545 caught everybody by surprise.” Unfortunately, English tends to be the subjects students struggle with the most, both statewide and in Devine, he said. Developing a rotation of special classes and labs to prepare students for retesting in English and the other various subjects is difficult to manage. New arrivals at high school also have their problems qualifying under HB 4545, Anderson said. “In the eighth grade they take four STAAR tests – science, social studies, math and reading,” he said. “We had 60 kids that came to us that failed at least one of those subjects.” Statewide, high schools also report a high number of STAAR failures for incoming students, due largely to COVID,” Anderson said. “In Devine, we probably had 15 of those kids fail all the tests and maybe another 15 who only failed one,” he said. “We had to find a way to remediate those kids.” The district created five STAAR labs depending mainly on computer programs with teachers monitoring their work, he said. Failure to pass any of the STAAR testing required 30 hours of accelerated remediation. “Basically, to get 30 hours done it takes about nine weeks based on 45-minute class periods,” Anderson said. “The state made it difficult. If you fail four subjects you are going to be in a STAAR lab all year long.” Options for summer school classes are also in the works, he said.
Nancy Saathoff makes presentation to Devine ISD board.
By Anton Riecher The Devine School District Board of Trustees voted May 16 to authorize Superintendent Todd Grandjean to hire professional staff as needed during the summer. A motion by Chris Davis, seconded by Ali Buvinghausen, came after a closed executive session to discuss personnel. Grandjean has earlier mentioned during his monthly report to the board that the interview process was underway for new principals at the elementary and intermediate schools. Interviews with the candidates for principal were scheduled for May 18, Grandjean told the board. “We are going to ask for hiring responsibilities tonight like we normally do in the summer,” he said. “We would have that start tomorrow and then finish up at our August board meeting.” However, Grandjean said he had no plans to hire a new athletic director on his own authority. “We are not going to hire the new AD on my own,” he said. Several unanticipated job vacancies have been posited by the district in addition to early retirement resignations that were expected, Grandjean said. “I’ll give a full report when we go into executive session,” he said. In further action following the executive session, the trustees voted to change professional contracts entered into by the district to one-year terms as recommended by Grandjean. Again, Davis’ motion to approve the proposal was seconded by Buvinghausen. Grandjean reported that the district is continuing to meet with the Devine Fire Department regarding the development of a fire and EMS training academy that would prepare students to obtain their certification as emergency responders from the Texas Commission on Fire Protection. To earn a certificate, responders must undergo an approved basic fire suppression program, pass an exam and earn accompanying emergency medical qualifications. “We talked about that a little bit in our budget workshop,” Grandjean said. “We have a draft master schedule ready at the high school. All the kiddos are ready to fit into the slots if we can get it moved forward.” Devine HS student would concentrate on firefighting in their junior year and move on to studying to be emergency medical technicians (EMT) in their senior year. Plans call for the academy to start this fall with the new 2022-23 school year. “Our current talks involve the complexities of funding as soon as we get some clear options,” Grandjean said. Grandjean reported that a meeting of the board of trustee’s strategic planning committee is anticipated in the near future. The committee consists primarily of teachers and community members involved in accessing a comprehensive, long-range facilities plan for the district. “We are putting our needs into a guide that we can use to continue to the next step,” Grandjean said. Action by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality remains pending on the district’s application for funding to cover replacement of four school buses. TCEQ earlier authorized $48,000 towards replacement of a 2006 school bus still in use, he said. Nancy Saathoff with the Devine Ex-Student /Teacher Association reported to the school board on plans for the high school homecoming festivities Oct. 7 and 8. Beside the Friday night football game, the association plans to display its archive collection tracing the history of Devine ISD back to the 1890s. The association also plans to honor the Devine High School graduating class of 1972 on its 50th anniversary, she said. “Our annual homecoming information pages and membership forms will be mailed this week to hopefully build up our membership base,” Saathoff said. This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the Dexta Student/Teachers Association, she said. “We have a long tradition of serving and supporting our alumni as well as giving annual scholarships for graduated seniors at DHS,” Saathoff said. “All of our funds are raised from the $10 annual dues and $100 lifetime memberships as well as through memorial and honor donations from our generous alumni.” See updates from latest meeting in article on new hires.
Michael Gomez will be the new intermediate school principal.
The Devine ISD School Board hired Michael Gomez as the new intermediate school principal, and Magdalena Vielma Strickland as the new Elementary principal at a special meeting on press day, Tuesday, May 24. Gomez is a 2002 graduate of Devine HS. Taught seven years at Harlandale ISD in San Antonio, and spent last three in Lytle ISD where he was assistant principal at Lytle High School. “I’m really humbled and excited to lead the intermediate school,” Gomez said. Gomez earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Texas A&M Kingsville and masters in educational leadership from University of North Texas. Strickland graduated from Texas A&M University in Kingsville, TX, in 1993 with a bachelor of science in range and wildlife management. She holds a teacher certification in secondary biology, also from Texas A&M – Kingsville. She also holds a master’s in education with an emphasis on urban learning from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA. She also received a master’s in education management from the University of Houston at Clear Lake and a doctorate in education with a superintendent certification from the University of Houston. Strickland presently teaches at Ninfa Laurenzo & DeZavala Elementary in Houston. She has taught in that school district since 2005. Strickland earlier taught science and math at McIlvaigh Middle School in Tacoma. Principal Strickland was not at the school board meeting and could not be reached for a comment as of press time.
Xavier Contreras and Kannon Ramirez received the Athletic Booster Club scholarship.
By Stella Contreras Devine High School Seniors received $92,700 in scholarships at the ceremony held Sunday May 15, 2022. Following the ceremony many students, staff and family stayed for the traditional Baccalaureate Service given by the First Baptist Church honoring the graduates.
Kylee Saunders, Corinne Fowler, and Aleyna Gerlach receive Martin Family Scholarship.
Scholarship Recipients were: Darian Alvarez- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Dr & Mrs Robert Francis Gossett Memorial Scholarship Peyton Carr-Jeremy Freeburn Memorial Scholarship; Jacob Benavides Memorial Scholarship; Rosalee Rogers McLure Memorial Scholarship; John Wesley Ward, Jr Memorial Scholarship; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship Xavier Contreras- Travis Wade
Kelli Geyer, Brady Hackebeil, Karma Herring, and Wyatt Spivey received the Security State Bank Scholarship.
Spielman Memorial Scholarship; Don Sessions Memorial Scholarship; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Devine Youth Sports Scholarship; First Baptist Church Devine Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship Madison Crabtree- Herring & Selma Blatz Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church; Devine Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Ashlyn Crossland- Carolyn Hopkins Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church; American Momentum Bank Scholarship Brooklyn Crossland- Herring & Selma Blatz Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church ; American Momentum Bank Scholarship Sage Cruz- Will to Win Scholarship Jacob Delaney- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Devine Ministerial Fellowship Scholarship Hayden Dubose- Will to Win Scholarship Kennedy Duncan- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; American Momentum Bank Scholarship; Tommy Groesbeck Memorial Scholarship; Kelly Culbreath Houston Memorial Scholarship; Cameron English- Alyssa Ramirez Memorial Scholarship; Doris and Ray Conrad/Mulholand Memorial Scholarship Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship Marina Esch- Herring & Selma Blatz Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church Angel Espinosa- Aaron Anthony Benavidez Memorial Athletic Scholarship; Marvin Gustafson Memorial Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship Jared Fernandez Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship ; Bain Memorial Scholarship Corinne Fowler- Martin Family Scholarship; Devine Ex Student/Teacher Angilee Griffin Heyen Memorial Scholarship; First Baptist Church Devine Scholarship; Medina County Farm Bureau Scholarship; Devine Current Events Scholarship Yessika Garza- DJ Carlson Memorial Scholarship; Rosalee Rogers McLure Memorial Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship Aleyna Gerlach- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Martin Family Scholarship; Bain Memorial Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship Kelli Geyer- Security State Bank Scholarship; Devine Area Thrift Store Scholarship; Karen Howard Muennink Memorial FCCLA Scholarship; McAnelly Educational Scholarship; Retired Teachers Association Scholarship; Robbie Robertson Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church; G.D & Ruby Whitfield Memorial Scholarship Jenysee Good-Wesley & Gene Lackey Ward Memorial Scholarship Jacob Guajardo- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Lula Teel Gossett Memorial Scholarship Brady Hackebeil-George Alexander Jr. Memorial Scholarship; DJ Carlson Memorial Scholarship; Joey Toepperwein Memorial Scholarship; Security State Bank Scholarship; Medina County Farm Bureau Scholarship; Devine Current Events Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship Riley Hagdorn- DJ Carlson Memorial Scholarship; Rosalee Rogers McLure Memorial Scholarship; Medina County Aggie Moms Scholarship; Devine Ex Student/Teacher Angilee Griffin Heyen Memorial Scholarship; Doris and Ray Conrad/Mulholand Memorial Scholarship Lily Hargis- Herring & Selma Blatz Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church; Devine Ex Student/Teacher Angilee Griffin Heyen Memorial Scholarship; Linda Alexander Memorial Scholarship Macey Hein Samantha “Sam” Buvinghausen Memorial Scholarship; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Neva Sessions Memorial Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship; Alyssa Ramirez Memorial Scholarship; Patricia Ann Wilkerson Woods Memorial Scholarship Karma Herring- Security State Bank Scholarship; American Momentum Bank; Devine Lions Club; Dollars for Scholars; Lytle State Bank- Salutatorian Audrey Longoria- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Patricia Ann Wilkerson Woods Memorial Scholarship; G.D & Ruby Whitfield Memorial Scholarship Kendall Marek- DJ Carlson Memorial Scholarship; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Devine Area Thrift Store Scholarship; Rosalee Rogers McLure Memorial Scholarship Cecilia Martinez- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Aaron Anthony Benavidez Memorial Athletic Scholarship; Aubrey and Willie Mae Driscoll Memorial; Imogene Tschirhart Memorial Scholarship Mason Martinez- Will to Win Scholarship Liliana Mendoza-Jimenez- St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Scholarship Isaiah Morin- Will to Win Scholarship Makayla Perez- Bain Memorial; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship Kannon Ramirez- Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Rosalee Rogers McLure Memorial Scholarship; St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Scholarship; Devine Youth Sports Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship Gracie Ricord- DJ Carlson Memorial Scholarship Jesslyn Sanchez- Neva Sessions Memorial Scholarship Kylee Saunders- DJ Carlson Memorial Scholarship; Rosalee Rogers McLure Memorial Scholarship; Martin Family Scholarship; Devine Lodge #590 Masonic Council Scholarship; Medina County A&M Club Scholarship; Medina County Aggie Moms Scholarship; St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Scholarship; American Momentum Bank Scholarship; Devine Ex Student/Teacher Angilee Griffin Heyen Memorial Scholarship; Devine Area Thrift Store Scholarship Brian Schaefer- – Alyssa Ramirez Memorial Scholarship; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Devine Lions Club; Dollars for Scholars Scholarship; Lytle State Bank- Valedictorian; Sid & Maurice Malone Memorial Scholarship; Robbie Robertson Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church ; Gordon Shultz Memorial Scholarship Brooke Schott- American Momentum Bank Lacey Shook Gayle & Don Sessions Scholarship; First Baptist Church Devine Scholarship; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship; Will to Win Scholarship Wyatt Spivey- Jacob Benavides Memorial Scholarship; Henry & Henrietta Bendele Memorial Scholarship; Carolyn Hopkins Memorial Scholarship Administered by First Baptist Church ; Wesley Ward Memorial Scholarship; Security State Bank Scholarship Abe Taitano- Ruth Allen Memorial Scholarship; Dollars for Scholars; Josie Hernandez Memorial Scholarship Administered by Lytle State Bank; DHS Faculty and Staff Scholarship Brianna Torres- Alyssa Ramirez Memorial Scholarship ; Devine Athletic Booster Club Scholarship Kadence Yeats – First Baptist Church Devine Scholarship
Gonzalez re-elected Lytle Mayor, Rodriguez to council, Ritchey wins Devine City Council seat, Davis and Frieda re-elected to Devine ISD board
City of Lytle… Mayor Ruben Gonzalez was re-elected with 363 votes to challenger Tom Cate with 174. Michael Rodriguez won the District 4 Alderman race 50 to 21 over Marshall Witter. District 5 Charles Cate was unopposed.
Ruben Gonzalez was re-elected Mayor for the City of Lytle.Michael Rodriguez was elected to Lytle City Council.
City of Devine Josh Ritchey won the District 5 seat with 39 votes over Cassandra Maldonado 15 and Wilburn Woody Woodrow 3 votes. Councilman D1 Rufino Vega and D3 David Espinosa were unopposed.
Josh Ritchey was elected to Devine City Council.
Devine ISD Trustees Chris Davis and Renee Frieda were re-elected to their At Large seats over challenger Brenda Burford. Davis had 246 votes, Frieda 206 and Burford 95. Trustees SD1- Ali Buvinghausen and SD2-Carl Brown were unopposed.
Renee Frieda was re-elected to the Devine ISD school board.Chris Davis was re-elected to the Devine ISD school board.
Four different elections are taking place this Saturday, May 7, 2022 in our area. City of Devine voters in District 4 can vote, all voters in Devine ISD can vote, and all voters in the City of Lytle can vote in those elections. Statewide all voters can vote in the Special Constitutional Amendment elections hosted in their county.
National Qualifiers 1st place: Katelyn Dinwiddie and Serenity Whitaker, Level 2, Focus on Children; from Devine FCCLA. They will compete at Nationals in California in June.
