YHS Principal Chris Wegener resigns after 20 years with YISD

  • Chris Wegener served as the Yoakum High School principal for 10 years. COURTESY OF GOOGLE MAPS
    Chris Wegener served as the Yoakum High School principal for 10 years. COURTESY OF GOOGLE MAPS
  • YHS Principal Chris Wegener announced his resignation following 20 years with YISD. COURTEST PHOTO
    YHS Principal Chris Wegener announced his resignation following 20 years with YISD. COURTEST PHOTO

    Yoakum High School (YHS) Principal Chris Wegener announced his resignation after two decades of serving local students as a coach, teacher and upper-level admin.

     

    Since his childhood growing up across the street from the Yoakum Bulldog Stadium, Wegener has spent the vast majority of his life engulfed in Bulldog spirit as a student and staff member.

     

    “I’ve been tagging along with Yoakum ISD staff and students since I was about five,” said Wegner. “I lived right next to a coach that was our neighbor, so I was attending football practices since the age of five as the ball boy (or) towel boy.”

     

    Wegener knew from a young age that he wanted to pursue coaching and returned to his alma mater as a teacher and coach in 2001. He has since worked several positions at the high school, only leaving for one year in 2011 to Hallettsville while obtaining his Master’s degree. 

     

    Well over a thousand students have graduated with Wegener at the helm of the high school. Past and present Yoakum students have memories of him as a defensive coordinator for the football team, head powerlifting coach, track coach, basketball coach, teacher, assistant principal, or principal.

     

    Wegener explained that his resignation was to explore an opportunity in another field and ensured that he planned to continue to be present at YHS events.

     

    “I graduated from here, and I’ve been here 20 years. So, there’s still a lot of pride,” said Wegener. “I’ll still be around. I’m definitely not leaving and falling off the face of the Earth. I’ll be at events and cheering on the Bulldogs.”

     

    He expressed confidence that YHS will continue to thrive despite his absence.

     

    “I think Yoakum will be fine; they’ll continue to do good things. I think education, in general, is getting tougher…,” Wegener said. “I think the job itself is getting harder, but (in) Yoakum, we’ve got good teachers, (a) good community (and) good upper-level admin.”

     

    When asked if there was anything he would like to tell the students, Wegner said, “I hope they realize that they might not like everything (YHS staff does), but everything that we do is with the mindset of let’s do what’s best for kids.”

     

    After the May 9 Yoakum ISD School Board meeting where Wegener’s resignation was announced, Superintendent Tom Kelley said that the staff and students would miss his presence after his official departure on June 30.

     

    “He’ll always be a Bulldog. He’s been a wonderful high school principal. He was just an excellent teacher, excellent coach and excellent person...” said Kelley of Wegner. “He’s done a fantastic job. We’ll miss him; he’s always welcomed back. I understand. He’s going into something outside of education, so we wish him the best.”