[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6228019,"mediaKeyId","3477966-5799381b8169dc25fef79b91ba31b225","parentId",3477966,"title","Judson ISD presents deficit forecast and proposed cuts; board tables consultant hire after debate","audioSeconds",3529,"startMs",3881000,"endMs",7410000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3477966-5799381b8169dc25fef79b91ba31b225&start=3881&end=7410","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3477966-5799381b8169dc25fef79b91ba31b225/thumbnail_3881000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6228019/Texas/Judson-ISD-presents-deficit-forecast-and-proposed-cuts-board-tables-consultant-hire-after-debate","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6228019-bf5fd7a36f63784ca09b1b170510fb4e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770541735&Signature=NH31fYltfTTvTffmIMpscPGHzf8Vxhoaxy8fl6b14QMbCg7iLwqjaAqBltNHVi8aHMMx1V~EcQpsKbB2sZqwFJWrPzRTsKs8tsAClstRWp47wQ~FaTBb37FNFG8vkx8iz7K533wb~~q-K9AJSdqKtPao~WzbD6Yy1Gc6D-akrf7levmtDENQJWCIVAUWj-RAzvequ0qljXrpD7Dd5OT-FIWzzUymhwWHERyf0of7AUahYraL97nJ1xC~9nCbP4nHqGi3Xf3LGOka79ah~EUFT91TsBFNwaSNjaw~lOQ6nmcFg0Uted1zeTJsVwJ~9O5dWe0cyxGgRR3PxDxxZfAplQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Judson ISD","date","2025-05-24T00:46:40.883Z","article","Superintendent Milton Fields and district staff presented a multi‑year financial forecast and a list of proposed reductions at the Judson ISD special board meeting. The presentation showed the district’s current‑year shortfall narrowed from an earlier projection of about $37 million to roughly $23 million, and a proposed 2025–26 budget gap in the high‑tens of millions depending on revenue outcomes.

Fields told the board the district had reduced the current fiscal year deficit from the earlier projection and outlined administration recommendations for additional cost savings. “We started the year with a $37,000,000 deficit, and we're projected to end with a $23,000,000 deficit,” Fields said while describing actions already taken and the remaining gap.

Administration presented a packet of possible reductions totaling roughly $11,863,685, ranging from program restructures, reductions in days worked for certain employee groups, the reassignment or non‑replacement of some vacant non‑teaching positions (25 vacancies identified), to the postponement of planned new school openings. The packet listed itemized savings estimates, including $1,028,375 from identified non‑teaching vacancies and an estimated $3,500,000 in savings if new school openings were postponed.

Board debate focused on whether to hire an outside financial consultant to guide deeper restructuring. One trustee moved to delegate selection of a board financial consultant to the board president, in consultation with legal counsel. After discussion and public testimony, another trustee moved to table that motion to give new board members and superintendent additional time to discuss the issue; the motion to table passed 5–2.

Board members expressed differing views: some said additional outside analysis could help craft a strategic, equitable plan; others argued hiring a consultant immediately would appear tone‑deaf while staff and campuses face cuts and recommended more internal dialogue before spending on consultants. Several trustees asked for more detailed, campus‑level impact analyses before any decision that would affect personnel or student services.

The administration emphasized that some recommended items had been approved at prior budget workshops (bringing previously approved savings of about $4.84 million) and that the current list of options was responsive to board direction to identify additional savings. Staff emphasized that figures are estimates and contingent on implementation details and state and local revenue outcomes, including any VADER (local tax election) results that could add roughly $12 million if successful.

Next steps: trustees directed administration to provide more granular impact analyses — including transportation, special‑education placements, grant implications, and staffing consequences — before taking votes on closures, layoffs, or other significant operational reductions. The consultant hire motion remains tabled and may be reintroduced only after further briefings.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Special Board Meeting 5/21/2025 5:30 pm","oneSentenceSummary","Superintendent presented a multi‑million dollar deficit forecast and an administration list of potential reductions totaling about $11.9 million; trustees tabled a motion to hire a board financial consultant 5–2 and asked administration for further impact analyses.","taxTitle","JUDSON ISD, School Districts, Texas","taxId",14234,"location","Texas","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6228024,"Judson ISD trustees vote to keep three campuses open after large public outcry",1875,14445000,16320000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3477966-5799381b8169dc25fef79b91ba31b225&start=14445&end=16320","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3477966-5799381b8169dc25fef79b91ba31b225/thumbnail_14445000.jpg","/articles/6228024/Texas/Judson-ISD-trustees-vote-to-keep-three-campuses-open-after-large-public-outcry","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6228024-2ce57bbd8e2d35bf1ece4ca2a2ecabaa/orig.mp4?Expires=1770541735&Signature=NqzWNvzwRlP8OrhqI2B6UiWndeVsMR0xldkj~PsjQ6Q7NxQwgCGbgu~EkF7wssjitUYvnMoi3sIN~p3WrDNksmNotGkiaxp07c3CgHtONxzNfmCjue4PMW14jZLAZwAry1htISIWuF6RL-3v~ixzz9Up8--abrft34TwKzW4Rvw0oaWDYRETOBbsxqxFb5eVwXzUFA-lF4Ih~Rlid85rBybMHRrV5834QGyGoiPS6rg2mUbRE0OtOe9ryndXR3ZchA~x-30Q6CAxgbIpILU-kr6z~7G55paCAV0UyFwMTib7O4v0z7-if7qsglg3WzK0i7mjrCzRkBUptUW1GW98OA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Judson Independent School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to keep Judson Middle School, Candlewood Elementary (including Candlewood STEM Academy) and Franz (Ed Franz) Leadership Academy open for the 2025–26 school year after several hours of public testimony and board discussion.

The vote followed a packed public‑comment period in which parents, teachers, students and community leaders urged trustees not to close neighborhood campuses. “If you close our doors you’re also closing the STEM pipeline we purposefully developed on the South Side of Judson,” Rochelle Diaz, principal of Candlewood Elementary and Candlewood STEM Academy, told the board.

The board’s formal actions: trustees passed motions not to close Judson Middle School, Candlewood Elementary/ STEM Academy and Franz Leadership Academy; each motion passed 7–0. The motions were made and voted during the special meeting; no campus closure was ordered.

Why it mattered: district staff had presented school closures as one option to reduce a projected multi‑million dollar deficit. Community speakers said closures would disrupt students’ routines, lengthen commutes, reduce access to on‑site services (including school‑based food and clothing programs) and risk losing recently awarded grants and capital improvements.

Many speakers described specific local programs they said would be lost if campuses closed. Carrie Savage, principal of Franz Leadership Academy, noted the school’s Leader in Me program and community partnerships; Rochelle Diaz cited a state “lasso” learning‑acceleration grant that funds Candlewood’s new STEM design. Parents, PTO representatives and students said the schools provide wrap‑around supports — food pantries, after‑school clubs, special education units and tutoring programs — that would be difficult to replicate elsewhere in the district.

Trustees and staff acknowledged that the district faces a structural budget shortfall and that difficult choices remain. Superintendent Milton Fields reviewed the district’s financial forecast earlier in the meeting and described the deficit scenarios that prompted the list of possible reductions and consolidations.

Board members who opposed closures said the financial assumptions required more study and more public engagement. Trustee Mesias Macias moved that the board not close the campuses; the motion was seconded and carried, 7–0.

What the board did not do: the board did not implement any campus reassignments, staff layoffs, or boundary changes at the meeting. Trustees said those steps would require separate agenda items with specific proposals and impact analyses, and they indicated the district would provide additional details before any future vote on closures.

Public context and next steps: dozens of speakers testified at the meeting, including students who pleaded to keep their neighborhood schools open and teachers who cited neighborhood supports and recent capital investments. Several speakers and trustees urged the community to engage state lawmakers about school funding. District leadership said it will continue to review budget options and present additional information to the board.

The board meeting also included separate agenda business on architectural selections tied to prior bonds and other budget items; trustees approved one bond‑related design selection later in the evening (6–1).","After hours of public comment and debate, the Judson ISD board voted unanimously to withdraw proposed closures of Judson Middle School, Candlewood Elementary/ STEM Academy and Franz Leadership Academy; the board had earlier discussed broad budget cuts to close a multi‑million dollar deficit.","actionData","errors"]

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Judson ISD presents deficit forecast and proposed cuts; board tables consultant hire after debate

Judson ISD trustees vote to keep three campuses open after large public outcry