COLMESNEIL – Colmesneil ISD held their regular monthly board meeting Monday evening, and several community members came forward to voice their concerns on various topics.
Speakers were limited to three minutes and were advised to not use any names in their comments by board president Kris Lindsey. Ceara LaFrance was the first speaker, and she began by saying “I am the newly appointed elementary PTO president. I would like to share my appreciation for letting PTO serve the teachers, students, and staff at CISD. The Miss Colmesneil pageant is set for this coming January, and a $500 scholarship will be awarded to the winning senior contestant, a $250 scholarship for most photogenic, and a cash prize for congeniality. This pageant does so much for our community, giving young girls the opportunity to be in a pageant where they would not have a chance otherwise”.
She added, “this morning, I received an email from the superintendent stating that PTO would not be allowed to use district copiers to make copies of pageant entry forms for our students while providing our own PTO purchased paper, which was very upsetting. I personally reached out to the school via phone to discuss the situation and did not make contact, she ( the superintendent ) did not return my call, and I have since received an email from her placing blame on me for the communities reaction for my PTO posts informing the community of our PTO meetings, the difficulty printing entry forms, and our inability to utilize school copiers. I made a post respectfully, and did not talk ill in any way of our school and staff members”.
LaFrance further explained, “we have used the school’s printer to print events for the 2024-25 school year. Our community has come together once again, and the Bulldog Café has allowed us to use their printer to get these entry forms tour students, but that burden should not fall on our community. PTO has extended the offer many times to make purchases for school needs including printer ink. All our hard work, dedication, and all our funds are poured directly into our students, staff, and teachers. We make a difference in this little town, please continue to support us without such hindrance”.
Stormy Martin spoke next, and she spoke out on behalf of a former Pre-K teacher who was dismissed in October. “I stand here today to speak for the teacher. As the mom of a Pre-K student, he struggled very early on, he needed good structure, a good team, I needed someone to confide in, and with the elementary, I had a wonderful staff that came together for me and my son, and when that teacher was removed, for actions that were made or unmade, he was lost, needing that good structure and support, somebody that cares about her students and her community. She was involved. I stand up here today to beg for, to ask for her to have that position back because we need her, the school needs her, the community needs her. She was heavily involved in PTO, all the things. I stand up here today because she loved her job, loved her community, and being involved. I think this deserves to be reconsidered for the kids, and the community”.
Caitlyn Mullin came forward to speak to the board about their decision to close the district to transfers. “This is a decision that would negatively affect the community, the school, and countless innocent families that have chosen Colmesneil to educate and help mold their children for the future. My girls thrive here, and my youngest is set to start kindergarten next year. My special needs son wants to attend school here and officially be considered a Bulldog. Closing the district to other transfer students does not promote growth with the district. I urge this board to consider factual data before making any decisions. I implore you as an elected board to create a legacy policy, to grandfather families, and not individual students, to afford families the opportunity to stay in one educational environment together”.
Items on the agenda were discussed and the first item was the discussion and approval of the FY 2023-24 district audit.
Dan Raney, of Goff and Herrington, P.C. of Lufkin went over the findings of the audit they conducted with the board, and basically certified that it was given an “Unmodified Opinion”, which is the highest level. There were no findings, issues, or anything major to report, basically, nothing that warranted any specific attention.
Board members approved utilizing Southeast Texas Purchasing Cooperative for the job order contract for renovations to the Ag building, approved the Tyler County Prevailing Wage Rates, and approved the 2024-25 Gifted and Talented Plan.
Superintendent Sharon tule next informed the board that Lake Tejas lost its insurance carrier, after the company dropped them due to issues at the lake with old, exposed wiring, as well as other issues. Tule is reaching out to TASB for another company. The district had already paid the premium on the cancelled policy for the year, and was assured the payment would be pro-rated when they could find another company to insure the lake. The board mulled over a course of action to take, and after much discussion, took no action at this point in time. A discussion to replace the roofs on the Cate building and/or the high school was also tabled at this point in time.
The board quickly approved the administrative policy covering applications on district owned electronic devices, and approval of prohibited software, applications, developers, hardware, equipment, and manufacturers.
