WOODVILLE – For the past 20 years, the trade publication Texas School Business has released a special Bragging Rights issue to highlight a small, select handful of school districts across the state.
Woodville ISD was one of 11 districts this year to receive the magazine’s titular honors. The magazine also honored an education service center in west Texas.
The special edition of the magazine was launched to showcase innovative thinking, strong leadership and other positive attributes of public school programs and is published each December.
The profile on WISD recognizes the districts Career and Technical Education (CTE) program, specifically highlighting the plumbing curriculum offered through the program.
The plumbing program, which was started four years ago by instructor John Bunker, came from a need that WISD superintendent Lisa Meysembourg saw. When Meysembourg was hired to lead the district, she made it a goal to grow the CTE programs, after seeing a trend in unemployment among young college graduates, nationwide.
Meysembourg said she was quick to let Bunker figure out a way to lead the next generation of tradesmen after he contacted her in 2022, and said he’s been the driving force behind the program.
The profile also details the mock-up house that students use to train in in the CTE facility. This was made possible by funds from the 2022 district-wide bond election.
Meysembourg pointed out that Bunker has become a beloved presence on campus and helps to bring many connections to students that they would not have otherwise had, due to his connections and partnerships with various trade groups and contractors.
The “Bragging Rights” issue also notes the success of 2025 graduate Carmelo “Melo” Castle, who has the distinction of being the first student in the state of Texas to complete the plumbing program and to pass the state plumbing exam upon his graduation.
Castle, who was recently accepted into the Beaumont Plumbers Local 68 as a second-year apprentice, was also recently honored, in August, as a “trailblazer” by the State Board of Education, District 7.
Meysembourg said that Castle’s success as a young plumber has helped spark a great deal of interest in the program, and that neighboring districts have asked if they can send students to become a part of the program, to which she has said “Absolutely, you can send them! Because this is not just about Woodville.”
