District staff laid out a plan Dec. 10 to reduce a projected multi‑million‑dollar deficit over two years, telling the Judson ISD Board of Trustees the administration can deliver roughly $16.8 million in first‑round reductions but that another roughly $11.9 million will be needed to eliminate the recurring gap.

Dr. Greg Gibson, who framed the discussion, urged trustees to set clear budget parameters so staff can produce scenarios that respect board priorities such as class size and safety. "We’ve got to build a plan to get from approximately 91% to approximately 85% payroll," Gibson said, describing payroll‑to‑revenue ratios the staff used to model options.

Superintendent Dr. Fields and finance staff presented assumptions and projections. Finance staff said current audited fund balance is about $86.5 million and, under staff assumptions, projected fund balance at June 30, 2026 would be about $53.5 million (roughly 77.7 days) and could fall to about $38.5 million (58.7 days) by June 30, 2027 if some proposed reductions are phased over two years.

Staff asked the board to approve a mid‑year amendment of $4.5 million to cover an estimated portion of the self‑funded health‑insurance "run‑out" that consultants projected at roughly $7.8–$9 million. Finance staff described the amendment as a conservative half‑payment to preserve cash flow while the district negotiates final projections with its third‑party administrator.

To reduce recurring costs, administration proposed a multi‑step CAPA (Corrective Action / Program Adjustments) approach: vacancy reviews and a soft hiring freeze already yielded about $4.1 million, an initial tiered list of central‑office positions was estimated to save about $6.47 million, and policy changes (eliminating grandfathered stipends, TRS surcharge changes for new hires and overtime→comp‑time) could yield about $2 million.

Human resources and finance staff said eliminating grandfathered stipends could save approximately $959,235, while converting overtime to comp time and changing retirement surcharges for future hires together could save roughly $580,000; staff estimated a 6‑day reduction for some 12‑month employees would save about $1 million.

The administration warned trustees that fully closing the recurring gap would likely require deeper actions in a second round, including campus consolidations (staff estimated $4.7–$6.1 million in savings), elimination of certain non‑required enrichment programs (roughly $800,000) and potential one‑time revenue such as sale of commercial property. The staff presentation noted these would be subject to committee review and community input.

Trustees pressed staff on the academic trade‑offs of workforce reductions. Trustee Veronica Ryan said she would "be looking for what the tie to our board goals and academic outcomes are" before agreeing to delay or cut positions that support turnaround campuses. Other trustees called for monitoring monthly revenue and expenditure forecasts and stressed a cautious, phased approach.

The board did not vote on any CAPA action at the meeting; trustees asked staff for follow‑up information and more detailed scenarios before taking formal votes. The presentation and discussion will return to the board for additional review and possible action in the coming weeks.