Administration

Judd MarshallSuperintendent

Judd Marshall graduated from Leonard High School in Leonard, Texas, received his Bachelor’s Degree from Henderson State University and his Master’s Degree from Texas A&M University-Commerce. He holds a Mid-Management Certification and a Superintendent’s Certification from the state of Texas. Judd has been at Mount Pleasant Independent School District for 27 years serving as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent.

He comes from a family of educators where his father, mother, and brother have all been superintendents. He is married to the former Courtney Scally of Mount Vernon, Texas. He has a son named Tanner and a daughter named Tenley.

Mike LideDeputy Superintendent

Mike Lide is a graduate of Rockwall High School and received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Texas A&M University-Commerce. He earned his Superintendent certification from the University of Texas at Tyler. Mike began his career in education as a history teacher and coach with Fannindel ISD where he went on to serve as head football coach and high school principal. He is currently in his 20th year with Mount Pleasant ISD.

During his tenure with MPISD, Mike has served as an assistant high school principal, elementary principal at Annie Sims Elementary, and deputy superintendent. Mike and his wife Jennifer have two children.

Craig BaileyAssistant Superintendent of Human Resources

Craig Bailey is a graduate of Mount Pleasant High School and earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas. He obtained a Master’s in Educational Leadership at Texas A&M University–Commerce and later earned his Superintendent certification through Texas A&M University–Texarkana in partnership with the Ratliff Superintendent Academy. Mr. Bailey is in his 14th year with Mount Pleasant ISD, where he has held a range of positions including teacher, coach, high school assistant principal, high school principal, director of Human Resources, and assistant superintendent. Craig and his wife, Angela, also a graduate of Mount Pleasant High School, are blessed with one daughter, Gianna.

Dustin CookAssistant Superintendent of Student Services

Dustin Cook is a graduate of Rivercrest High School. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science from Texas A&M University-Texarkana and a Master’s degree of Educational Leadership from Texas A&M University-Commerce. Dustin began his career in education at Mt. Pleasant Junior High School where he served as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, and principal. He was the principal of Mt. Pleasant High School for four years before taking his position as Director of Student Services.

Dustin is currently in his 23rd year with Mt. Pleasant ISD. He and his wife Jamie have two children. One is a MPHS graduate and one is currently in 12th grade.

Stacie ThompsonChief Financial Officer

Stacie Thompson graduated with a Bachelors of Business Administration from Stephen F. Austin State University. She is a CPA and a Registered Texas School Business Official. Stacie has been with the district for 27 years.

Audra WalkerDirector of Business

Audra Walker graduated with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Educational Leadership from Stephen F. Austin State University. She holds a teaching, principal, and superintendent certification from the State of Texas. She has also completed all course work to become a Registered Texas School Business Administrator.

Audra began her career as a teacher and coach in 2001 with a short break in 2012 into the Insurance and Finance industry. She re-entered education in 2015 and is starting year 11 with Mt. Pleasant ISD. Mrs. Walker has served our district as a teacher, Junior High assistant principal, and Junior High principal. She is currently the Director of Business and will be the Chief Financial Officer upon Mrs. Thompson’s retirement in December 2025.

Audra and her husband Michael have five children and two grandchildren.

Joe CluleyAthletic Director/Head Football Coach

Coach Cluley is entering into his 19th year of coaching and joined MPISD in January of 2022 as the Head Football Coach and Athletic Director. Coach Cluley was previously the head coach at Lubbock Estacado HS where he compiled a record of 33-16 and won 3 straight District Titles and his staff won 3 consecutive staff of the year awards. He was named to the Dave Campbells 40 under 40 multiple times and led Estacado to their first undefeated regular season since 1968. Cluley’s father, also named Joe, was a coach for 25 years and served in the role of head coach and athletic director for 15 of those seasons – 4 of them at Mount Pleasant HS. To say that the younger Joe was destined to join the coaching ranks would be a slight understatement. “He’s my hero,” the younger Cluley told local media the day he was hired. “I grew up on the sidelines of Texas high school football stadiums. Our Fridays were always spent traveling, going to games and hanging out. He taught me how to be a football coach, so that’s where my passion and intensity comes from. I was able to grow up with it and watch, to me, the best coach in the world do it for over 20 years.”

Cluley was born in Mineral Wells and graduated from Sam Houston State University in 2007. His first coaching stop took him to Lago Vista, where he was a member of the staff from 2007-2010, before joining the staff at Wichita Falls High from 2011-2015. He spent the final three seasons at WFHS as the defensive coordinator and in 2014 was chosen to the prestigious Cal Ripken, Jr. “Uncommon” Coach Award, an honor given to only two coaches throughout the country. He has spent the last four years at Lubbock Estacado as the Athletic Coordinator and Head Football Coach.

Coach Cluley and his wife, Courtney, have been married for 17 years and they have three daughters: Kate, MJ and Olive.

“If our kids get 1% better every day, by the end of the year, we’re going to be a really good football team.” – Coach Cluley

Shelley DerrickDirector of Assessments

Shelley Derrick is a graduate of Paul Pewitt High School. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M-Texarkana and her Master of Education from Texas A&M-Commerce. She is currently in her 40th year of education with this being her 32nd at MPISD. Her teaching career has covered teaching at all levels from Pre-K to Junior High school. She served MPISD as the Early Head Start Director and an MPHS Assistant Principal before moving into her current position. She and her husband Steve have four children and nine grandchildren.

Eva BelesDirector of Bilingual and ESL Education

Eva Beles is a graduate of Como-Pickton CISD and Texas A&M University-Commerce. With over 28 years of experience in bilingual education, she specializes in dyslexia, ESL, and dual-language programs across elementary and secondary levels. For the past 12 years, Eva has served as Director of Bilingual and ESL Education at Mount Pleasant ISD, where she has led the development of curriculum and programs designed to support emergent bilingual students. As a frequent presenter at local, regional, and state events, Eva shares her expertise to enhance practices in bilingual education.

She and her husband Leonard, a retired educator, are the proud parents of two daughters, Andrea and Sidney, both of whom are graduates of Mount Pleasant High School.

Shirley PetersonDirector of State and Federal Programs

Shirley Peterson is a graduate of Mount Pleasant High School, received her Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from Baylor University and her Master of Science in Educational Technology, Principal and Superintendent Certifications from Texas A&M University-Commerce. Shirley was with Highland Park ISD for eight years as a high school teacher and department chair before returning to the Mount Pleasant area to serve as a Technology Consultant for Region 8 and then Director of Curriculum, Special Programs and Technology at Chapel Hill ISD.

Shirley joined the staff of Mount Pleasant High School in 2006 serving as Academic Dean, CTE Director and Associate Principal. She assumed her present position in 2014. She and her husband Ted have two sons, Baker and Matthew, who are both MPHS graduates. They are members of First Baptist Church in Mt. Pleasant.

Noe ArzateChief Technology Officer

Noe Arzate directs technology services throughout the district including Technology Infrastructure, Technology Information Services, Technology Operations and Instructional Technology.

Pamela JenningsDirector of Food Services

Pamela Jennings is a proud native of Mount Pleasant, Texas. She graduated from Mount Pleasant High School before earning her Associate of Science degree from Northeast Texas Community College. She is currently advancing her education by pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Administration, further demonstrating her commitment to personal and professional growth. She has been with the district for 25 years. She and her husband Roy have 2 children both graduates of Mt Pleasant High School and 3 grandchildren.

Kelly CowanDirector of Communication

Mrs. Kelly Cowan is a graduate of Mount Pleasant High School. She attended Kilgore College where she was a World Famous Kilgore College Rangerette for two years. She received her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English from the University of Texas at Austin and her Masters of Education (M.Ed.) from Texas A&M at Commerce. She taught in Plano ISD for six years before moving back to Mount Pleasant in 2001.

Kelly joined Mount Pleasant Independent School District as the Director of the Tiger Dolls. She became a counselor at MPHS in 2003 and then an Assistant Principal in 2013. Kelly and her husband Collin have one daughter, Connelly, who is a MPHS graduate.

Russell LuckDirector of Maintenance and Operations

Russell Luck was born and raised here in Mount Pleasant, Texas and is a graduate of Mount Pleasant High School. He graduated from Northeast Texas Community College with a degree in business. During the time that he attended both high school and college, Russell worked for a local air conditioning company where he remained for 16 years.

Russell joined Mount Pleasant Independent School District in 2005 and was named Director of Maintenance in 2012. Russell, his wife Michelle, and their three children are members of First Baptist Church. His hobbies include coaching youth sports, hunting and fishing.

Justin ChambersDirector of Titus County Shared Services

Justin Chambers is a graduate of Chapel Hill High School in Mount Pleasant, Texas. He attended the University of Texas at Tyler where he received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in clinical psychology with a specialization in school psychology. After graduate school, he began practicing as a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology. He continued through post-graduate training in School Neuropsychology and is currently a Diplomate in School Neuropsychology.

Justin began working in schools as a paraprofessional and then afterschool coordinator. He joined the staff of Mount Pleasant ISD in 2007 as a Case Manager and ARD Facilitator for Special Education. For 12 years prior being named the Director of Special Education, Justin served in Mount Pleasant as a School Psychologist and supervisor of special education counseling and psychological services for Titus County Shared Services. Justin and his wife, Stephanie, have two boys and enjoy serving in the community and with their church family.

Ronnie HumphreyChief of Police

Ronnie Humphrey was born in Mount Pleasant, Texas and graduated from Pittsburg High School. He is a graduate of the Northeast Texas Community College Police Academy, earned an Associate of Science Degree-Criminal Justice at NTCC and a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences from Texas A&M Texarkana. Ronnie began his police career with the Camp County Constables office as a Deputy Constable then joined the Pittsburg Police Department as a Police Officer. He came to work for the MPISD Police Department in 2002 and was named Chief of Police in 2009. Ronnie holds a Master Peace Officer License with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement and is both a certified DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) instructor and a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Instructor. Ronnie has over 29 years in law enforcement.

Dr. Theodus Luckett IIIDirector of Fine Arts

Dr. Theodus Luckett III is a graduate of Dollarway High School in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He received his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Music from the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Master of Music (M.M.) in Music Education from Stephen F. Austin State University, and Doctor of Education (Ed. D) in Leadership from Grand Canyon University. His dissertation is entitled The Relationship between Musical Aptitude and Academic Achievement. He also holds a Mid-Management certification from Lamar University and Instrumental Adjudicator certification from the Texas Adjudicator Association. He previously served as assistant and director of bands at Daingerfield ISD, Longview ISD, and Paul Pewit CISD. Under his direction, his bands have received numerous UIL Sweepstakes Awards and superior ratings at UIL Marching, Concert, and festivals.

Theodus joined Mount Pleasant Independent School District in 2014 and was named Director of Fine Arts in 2017. Theodus also serves as Senior Dissertation Adjunct at Grand Canyon University. Theodus is currently conducting research on The Relationship between Fine Arts Participation and Academic Achievement. Theodus, his wife Karen, and son Drew are members of the Moses Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal church.

Hayes LesherDirector of Safety/Principal of DAEP

Hayes Lesher is a graduate of Mount Pleasant High School. He has received multiple degrees; an Associate of Arts from Houston Community College Systems, Bachelor of Science in Business Management from LeTourneau University and his Master degree in Education from Texas A&M University-Texarkana. He holds a teaching and Mid-Management certificate in Education and many Law enforcement Certificates and Awards with Texas Law Enforcement, the highest level of Master peace officer and Instructor’s license from the State of Texas. In addition, he is a graduate from LEMIT Leadership Command College from Sam Houston State University, Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas class # 56.

Hayes has been with Mount Pleasant Independent School District for 29 years serving as a teacher, coach, chief of police, assistant principal, currently a principal, and director of safety.

He is married to Laura and they have four children: Joshua, Ashlyne, Ericka and Lauren. He has seven grandchildren: Braxton, Camryn, Noah, Lydia, Sebastian, Nolan and Kalani.

Van BowenDirector of Facilities

Van Bowen graduated from New Diana High School in Diana, Texas, and received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Education in Educational Administration from East Texas State University. He holds a Texas Teaching Certificate and Mid- Management Certification. Additionally, Van is certified in All Level Physical Education, History, Health, and Agriculture. He has taught every grade level in his teaching career for MPISD.

Van is starting his 40th year at Mount Pleasant Independent School District. He and his wife, Charla, a retired Special Education counselor for Mount Pleasant ISD, have two daughters, Caity and Carly, both graduates from Mt. Pleasant High School.