A worn-out library book with pages falling apart prompted a Clear Lake grandfather to write a six-figure check for Clear Creek ISD's intermediate school libraries.

Greg Strickler, who has lived in Clear Lake since 1978, donated $100,000 to the district on Aug. 5 to refresh library collections at all ten CCISD intermediate campuses. The gift arrives as the district faces a projected $22.8 million budget shortfall for the 2026-27 school year.

The story started when Strickler's granddaughter, Olivia, a student in CCISD's WAVE (Webster Academy-Visions in Education) gifted-and-talented magnet program, brought him a library book to read during her sixth-grade year. The book was falling apart.

"The pages were literally falling out of the book," Strickler told KGTX 7 News.

Strickler contacted the school librarian, got a list of titles needing replacement and bought new copies. The next year, he provided funding so the librarian could order books through the school's purchasing system. That campus-level effort grew into a district-wide plan developed over the summer with CCISD administrators.

"I thought that the other intermediate schools probably have similar needs," Strickler said.

He raised five children who attended CCISD schools from kindergarten through high school. His connection to the district spans nearly five decades.

Strickler planned the $100,000 as a surprise for librarians returning for the new school year. Superintendent Dr. Karen Engle said in an Aug. 7 district statement that Strickler "saw a need and chose to turn it into an opportunity for thousands of children."

The district has not said how the $100,000 will be divided among its ten intermediate schools, which serve students in grades six through eight. WAVE, the program Olivia attends, operates at two of those campuses: Westbrook Intermediate and League City Intermediate.

The donation comes during a tight budget year. CCISD Chief Financial Officer Alice Benzaia told the board at its Aug. 17 meeting that a loss of roughly 1,000 students drove a $16 million drop in state and local funding. The district plans to draw from a $39 million capital contingency fund to cover the gap in its proposed $432 million budget.

A public hearing on the proposed budget and tax rate is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 24. The board will formally adopt the tax rate at its Sept. 28 meeting.