COLMESNEIL – Change is tough, and growth can be painful, according to Colmesneil ISD Board of Trustees president Eric Lee.
Lee, who is in his third year as a member of the CISD board, sat down with the Booster to address some plans looming on the horizon for the district, ranging from recruiting teachers to a possible rebirth of Lake Tejas.
“Education, while it seems clean-cut and dry is a dirty business,” Lee said. Ultimately, school districts are a business, and he added that the product being produced is a quality education for the youth, and the preparedness for either college, military or career paths.
Lee said that one topic that has been on his mind in his position with CISD is that of Lake Tejas, which has seen diminishing returns for many years. Laws forbid the district from using district dollars for the once-popular attraction’s overhead.
The lake has to be its own self-sufficient business, Lee said, and for several years the situation has been “up and down road” with the property.
“Looking at the financial records over the past several years, it has not been ideal,” he said. “We’re looking at a path forward with an investor group,” he said, which will have to be voted on by the board.
Those conversations with a yet-to-be-named investor group include a term lease, where the district has the ability to work with the group on what their vision is for the property. The operating capabilities would include a 50/50 split, and Lee said Lake Tejas would also, ideally, have a governing board consisting of members of the community as well as members of the investor group. Lee said the community members need to have a voice in the Lake Tejas property and decisions surrounding it, going forward.
The group would be able to execute many capital improvements to the lake and potentially bring it back to being the renowned staple attraction that it was. “When I was growing up, the lake was the place to be,” Lee said.
“If we can get the attraction of Lake Tejas back to its heyday here in 2025, it will be a win-win for this community, and for Tyler County as a whole,” he said.
District working toward more transparent communications
Another issue that Lee wanted to speak to is transparency within the district. “Given the multitude of negative attention toward the district, it’s been overshadowing a lot of the good going on in the district,” Lee said.
“At the end of the day, the community’s view or ideology as to how the board operates affects the outlook of all that goes on within the district.
Lee said that the district has done all it has been able to do, legally, and in accordance with district policy, regarding recent incidents that have drawn concerns. Regarding communications from the district, he said that is one area it could do better.
“I really appreciate and welcome that critical feedback from community members. We don’t know what the community is wanting unless they let us know,” he said.
For some of the negative attention that has surfaced on social media about CISD, Lee said he will respond to that, as well. “I’m still going to listen to them, and I’m going to react the best way I can,” he said.
“We’re in a position now to where Colmesneil ISD is trying to evolve with the times. We’ve been secluded in the pineywoods of East Texas for so long…information is available at the tip of your fingers now, and it should be that way for the district, for people to receive information from the district,” he added.
Lee mentioned that he had established a Facebook page under his own name, as CISD board president, in an effort to be more transparent with constituents. Additionally, the district also utilizes the Remind app, which is a direct conduit to parents who have signed up for it. The app will remind parents about upcoming events, via reminders, or any pertinent information that the district needs to get out, directly to parents.
“The community deserves to know the truth about everything that goes on [at CISD] especially when their kids are directly involved,” Lee said.
Lee added that he is open to sit down with anyone who wishes to sit down and have a conversation about the district and any concerns that may be present. “We hear a lot from the parents, but I want to hear from the taxpayers, too,” he said.
Staring down challenges
One of the biggest challenges Lee said has faced CISD that he looks to tackle is that of maintaining its facilities in order to keep a healthy campus going.
“A school district faces challenges every day that the general public is not privy to,” Lee said. “While we do have good facilities at Colmesneil ISD, they need maintenance done to them, preventative maintenance.”
“We’re looking at everything from HVAC issues to plumbing problems,” he said.
Another challenge has been to recruit and retain quality faculty. “Teachers are not easy to find, and not easy to bring here,” he said.
“In the past we’ve had recruitment opportunities and teams, but it hasn’t been an active thing [recently]. We haven’t had a focus on a highly competitive campaign for [recruiting] new teachers or established teachers,” he said.
“[CISD] pays $8,000 above base pay and has a four-day instructional week,” Lee said. That four-day schedule has been kept due to feedback from the community, as Lee said the district has done surveys, which have shown that the majority are in favor.
The district also provides faculty members longevity pay of $1,000 after the first year, which is paid out around the holidays.
Lee said that the superintendent Sharon Tule has also begun a focus group consisting of faculty members from all CISD campuses in order to bring new ideas to the table, as well as share problems they may have, in order for Tule to try and solve whatever problems might exist. “That has been a big win for the district, it’s moved the needle,” Lee said.
Another avenue Lee said that he aspired to bring back to CISD when he became board president is the re-implementation of a Gifted and Talented (GT) program.
There had not been one in place in the district for several years, he said, but through the past year, he and Tule have collaborated to revive the program.
“Currently we are in the process of referring students to the new GT program, which will be implemented in the fall of 2025,” he said.
“This effort has involved significant work to prepare and qualify teachers to effectively teach these courses. Our goal is to promote a curriculum that better challenges students and prepares them for success beyond their time in the school district of CISD.”
‘Be the change’
Lee said that while he welcomes feedback, of all sorts, from community members, he wants to encourage anyone who wants to affect a change within CISD to put their name in the hat on the board when a spot is open for re-election.
“We need the experienced parents or grandparents who have children or grandchildren and a vested interest in the school to serve on that board, and if we don’t have diversity, we’re going to get a lot of bobbleheads. What we need are people who know how to challenge each other in a positive way,” he said.
