HISD bonds pass by wide margin

The Hondo Independent School District’s three bond proposals all passed overwhelmingly on Saturday. The smallest winning percentage was 71.6% in Proposition B. In addition, Hondo Place 3 City Councilman Jose “Porky” Ytuarte was reelected for his third three-year term of office with a 63.7% victory over challenger Melissa Claire.

Place 4 City Councilwoman Rachel Ramirez was unopposed in her bid for a second term.

In the Hondo ISD bond, which totals $30 million, Prop A is for the issuance of bonds in the amount of $25 million for school facilities, including districtwide renovations at all campuses.

This will include upgrading HVAC systems, street and parking lot paving throughout the district, restroom renovations at all campuses, security vestibules at Hondo HS and Woolls Intermediate, renovation of culinary arts classrooms at HHS, locker room renovations at McDowell MS, cafeteria expansion at Meyer Elementary, a districtwide intercom system, and renovation of the former TxDOT garage for the HHS CTE programs.

Prop B is a $3 million bond for school recreational facilities, including renovation of existing baseball and softball facilities.

Prop C is a $2 million bond for existing Barry Field facilities, which will include replacement of visitor side restrooms and renovations of home side restrooms.

“Our bond committee was an incredible team, and the community was so supportive,” Hondo ISD Superintendent Rose Mary Mares said. “The Political Action Committee ran with it and did a phenomenal job. They had 10 meetings before the school board called for the election, and had a good list of our priorities, with everything being very well thought out.”

She added that the district will want to start as quickly as possible on some of the projects which were approved in the bond.

“We need to look at all of our projects,” she said. “Some will require architects, so those will take a little longer. But some of the other projects, we can start going out for bids in the near future.”

The school board will hold a special meeting next Monday, May 11, to canvass the election returns.

The City of Castroville has elected two new council members, who were victorious in their single-member district races – Tobin Shipp in District 4, and Valarie Solis in District 5.

Nathan Fillinger and Blane Nash won re-election to Medina Valley ISD’s Board of Trustees as at-large members.

In the Devine ISD, Board President Nancy Pepper was reelected to her District 4 seat, while Britny Stricker was elected to District 3.

In a strange set of circumstances, the vote for the creation of the Medina Valley Ranch Municipal Utility District failed, when no votes at all were cast either for or against all six propositions, nor did any of the five candidates on the ballot for the permanent directors’ positions receive any votes.