New LISD superintendent faces familiar challenges

Dr. John Mathews said he is ready for the challenges awaiting him and the district as he stepped into his new role as superintendent at Lumberton ISD on May 28. Predecessor Superintendent Dr. Tony Tipton announced he was retiring from public education after a 30-year career and four-year stint as Lumberton ISD superintendent last year. 

Lumberton ISD came up on Mathews’ radar as he was looking for the next step in his professional career. Mathews, who has 28 years of experience in the field of education, was most recently the chief operations officer at Celina ISD, a district with enrollment of about 4,800 students compared to Lumberton’s enrollment estimated at 4,200. Mathews, 53, said he was looking for an engaging district to join and shopped around Texas. 

“I wanted a district that (my youngest son) would be able to join me in, and I have friends down here,” Mathews said, also noting that he was looking for a district with strong programs. He and Kelley, his wife of 27 years, lived in the North Texas area, where they raised their four children. His youngest son will be a freshman this year. 

“We started looking at the area. My wife and I started looking in East Texas and also in the Hill Country.” 

At a meet-and-greet hosted by the Lumberton Chamber of Commerce on June 25, parents, students and community members filed into the at the LISD Performing Arts Center to meet the new superintendent. Entering his fourth week as the head of LISD, Mathews acknowledged that there are challenges in every school district, some he will have to tackle as he takes the reins of the district. 

“One thing that is abundantly clear is budgeting is going to be challenging, given the current budgeting system that is set up,” he said. 

At the June Summer Leadership Institute hosted by the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), Mathews said he saw the road ahead. 

“It feels like the Legislature is using Texas school children as a pawn in a political game to get vouchers,” he said. 

“In the meantime, that’s hanging multiple districts” and a large percentage of districts are “having to pass deficit budgets” because of the lack of funding “just to be able to give their staff and facility a decent wage,” he explained. "There are districts passing multi-million-dollar deficit budgets ($20 million to $30 million) and cutting staff positions. 

“And,” Mathews reported of districts passing multi-million-dollar budgets and still cutting staff, “they’re still not able to make ends meet.” 

For Lumberton ISD, the budget will be grounded by enrollment numbers from the end of the 2023-2024 school year, with the loss of 60 students – a big loss for the small district. 

“When you budget off a certain number then lose 60 students, you mul- tiply that by $6,160 – that’s how much money ($369,600) the district lost,” he explained. “That’s a hit.” 

Mathews stated the loss of $369,900 equals the $55,000 annual salaries for six teachers. Additionally, the superintendent noted, over the past several years, inflation has hit school districts hard and funding is based off 2019 figures that have increased dramatically. Increases in the cost of insurance, utilities and maintenance has added hardship, as well. Most school districts, he said, are attempting to ensure their teachers and staff are getting raises that help cover their increases in the cost of living, plus cover the increase cost of health insurance. 

“Sometimes they’re getting a raise but they’re breaking even because they’re spending more on insurance,” Mathews said of how the numbers are falling. “Some people’s calculations say they’re going backwards.” 

With funding, Mathews said the biggest challenge is finding the money to provide for excellence, teaching and learning amid a setting wherein “the Legislature has set public schools up for failing.” 

“They’re moving the target every year,” Mathews said of standardized testing ratings. “They’re changing how the test is written every year or every two years. As soon as we figure out the bar for learning and we get to the point where our students are reaching mastery of the test the way it was written, they move the target. They’re not making the test more rigorous, they’re completely changing it.” 

Mathews said, for example, students’ expectation was shifted from six grade to fourth grade in math, which, “makes it difficult to demonstrate the success that’s actually occurring in public schools.” 

Add on the complications of finding support staff, such as bus drivers. Thankfully, he said, prior administration putting a hybrid schedule in place has helped with acquiring employees. Students go to school five days each week from the first day until October, then four days a week until Spring Break, then return to five days a week until the end of school 

“That’s helped in our hiring and helped in our applicant pool,” Mathews said. “It’s not only bringing teachers, but experienced teachers. But, like other districts, there is a shortage of teachers.” 

Focusing on the district’s path ahead as a whole, Mathews expressed excite- ment about the good things happening in Lumberton ISD. 

“There’s a lot more than just a onetime test to grade how well LISD is doing,” he said. “Look at any of our UIL events, we are successful. We have a lot of solid programs, including music and the arts.” 

Mathews extolled the district’s “very robust” Career and Technical Education (CTE) program, as well as the partnership with Lamar State CollegeOrange. Also, he noted that 100% of the students in the certified nursing assistant (CNA) program passed their exams. 

“I’m working on integrating myself into the team of eight,” Mathews said of joining the Lumberton ISD Board of Trustees in working toward excellence. “We have some deep-root folks, who have been here a long time. I feel like I’ve connected with them and that’s going to be good moving forward.”