School board recognizes students, swears in new member
The Bandera Independent School District met for its May meeting on Monday. Most of the meeting was devoted to honoring students who qualified for state or national competitions.
One of the first orders of business, however, was to swear in new board member, Casey Hauer will fill out the term of Rhondo Jauer, a longtime board member who has had two children graduate from Bandera ISD schools. Jauer will be stepping back from his role as board member.
Athletic Director Joel Fontenot-Amedee and his coaches recognized the Texas High School Coaches Association Academic All State winners. They were Hannah Edwards, Raelynn Butler, Reece Mazurek, Joshua Nimmrichter, Jesus Rodriguez, Logan Sadler, Avery Oulette, and Katie Dibrell.
To qualify for academic all-state status, the student athlete must keep their grade point average at a 92 or above for the duration of their high school career.
Recognized by the Texas Girls Coaches Association were for Academic All State were: Stella Brown, Maci Morrison, Shaely Rogers, Quinlynn Taylor, Avery Oulette, Hannah Edwards, and Katie Dibrell.
The Track and Field Academic All State 1st Team recognized Hannah Edwards, and Logan Sadler. The Track and Field Academic All State 2nd Team recognized Raelynn Butler, Ashley Grodman, Emily Garcia, and Lauren Benedict.
The Texas High School Powerlifting Association recognized Emily Garcia as an All-State athlete. THSPA also recognized Academic All State athletes Mathew Staton, Emily Garcia, and Ashley Grodman.
The Texas Association of Basketball Coaches recognized Avery Oulette, Hannah Edwards, and Katie Dibrell for Academic All State in Basketball.
The Texas State Athletic Trainers’ Association recognized Avery Oulette, Hailie Barta and Savannah Cruz for Academic All State.
The Texas Association of Soccer Coaches recognized Bryan Gonzalez as a TASCO First Team All-Region Forward. TASCO also recognized Donavan Brown, Bryan Gonzalez, David Guerra, Reese Mazurek, Joshua Nimmrichter, Logan Sadler, and Jesus Rodriguez for earning Academic All-State.
Senior Tyler Moore was recognized for qualifying for the state track tournament in the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles. Junior Braden Cox was recognized for qualifying for the state track meet in the 1600- meter run.
The BHS Academic Decathlon Team was recognized for its first-place finish at the state level and its fifth-place finish at the national level. Chandler Knowles placed first in individual competition at the state level and 2nd place individual at the national level. Riley Longobardi placed third in the state. Christopher Pallesen placed third at the state level. William “Ozzie” Knowles paced fourth at the state level. Laurel Morsi placed fifth at the state level. Megan Mize, Savannah Venegas, Emily Ramos, and Karina Garcia also competed for BHS’ state and national winning team.
The Texas Association of Future Educators recognized national qualifiers Addyson Allen for Creative Lecture, Dorothy Magee for Inside Our School, Amberly Patterson for Inside Our School, Katie Dibrell for Inside Our School, and Yliana Tripp for Inside Our School.
Chelsey Graves, Kate Guajardo, Sidney Timmons, Tessa Phillps, and Lily Bitzkie were recognized by the Future Farmers’ Association as state qualifiers in dairy cattle and forage evaluation. Chelsey Graves and Kate Guajardo were recognized for their participation in the National Agricultural Science Fair.
University Interscholastic League State Qualifiers were Elijah Sarazjia in Cross Examination Debate, Katelyn Mendez in Cross Examination Debate, Cade Koenig in Ready Writing, and Quenton Lee in News Writing.
The Consent Agenda was approved. There were no Citizen’s Comments. Superintendent Gary Bitzkie gave May Superintendent’s Report.
Chief Financial Officer Michael Neuman presented a draft copy of the BISD 2022-2023 Budget.
On the Regular Agenda, Neuman presented the possible compensation plan for employees for the 2022-2023 school year. The Board voted to approve the plan.
Donald Tosh asked that the district add three new staff positions for the 2022-2023 school year. The Board approved the additional staff.