Rolling Meadows Elementary, Park Village Blended Learning Academy and Ed Franz Leadership Academy will be closing their doors despite emotional testimony.
LIVE OAK, Texas — The Judson ISD school board voted to close three elementary schools despite dozens of teachers, parents and students advocating for their school to be saved during a special board meeting Tuesday evening.
District leaders previously voted to close four campuses—three elementary schools and one middle school. The board last week voted to close Judson Middle School; Tuesday’s meeting centered around the futures of three elementary campuses.
The district’s decisions come amid declining enrollment and an estimated $37 million budget shortfall. Judson ISD is the fourth-biggest in the San Antonio area.
A shortlist was presented to the board just days ago. Schools recommended for potential closure included Park Village Blended Learning Academy, Rolling Meadows Elementary and Ed Franz Leadership Academy.
During public comment, about 30 people spoke about why Rolling Meadows Elementary should be saved. Several teachers, staff members, students and parents all took the stand pleading their case on whether to close the school.
Many community members suggested giving the school one more year to leverage community support and prove the school is worth keeping around.
“Closing Rolling Meadows does not make sense,” one teacher said. “If the district is looking for efficiency, we should be looking at performance and utilization, not shuttering a success story.”
Several young students told the board about the extracurricular activities as well as the fun nature the school provides. One student even said it was “the happiest elementary school in our district,” comparing it to Disney World.
Many speakers questioned why they were closing a high-performing, functional school.
Melissa Morgan, the PTO president of Rolling Meadows, went on to say the school is “more than a building, it’s a community. [It’s] a school that matters, a school that works, a school that deserves to stay open.”
One man even called for the resignation of Board President Monica Ryan, who in recent weeks has clashed with fellow trustees who have accused her of violating the Open Meetings Act and not being transparent.
Public comment lasted about an hour. After a final presentation by Interim Superintendent Robert Jaklich – voted to the position just last week – and a closed session, Trustee José A. Macias, Jr. moved that the board should not close Rolling Meadows Elementary School, citing that closing these schools was “backwards” and that they haven’t had any formative budget discussions. He also mentioned that Ed Franz Leadership Academy shouldn’t be closed as well.
Trustee Laura Stanford suggested that the board should give Rolling Meadows one more year and that the community could “show them the way.”
“I believe in you,” Stanford said to the Rolling Meadows community. “Let’s invest in them. They will help the entire district.”
Despite the outcries, the other trustees and board president provided reasons why they thought the schools should close.
Trustee Suzanne Kenoyer, who used to work at Rolling Meadows, said she was voting to close the schools, a decision she hated. She said that she cared about the school but what meant more to her was to make sure the district remains functional.
“I hate that this is the decision I feel like I have to make,” Kenoyer said.
Board President Ryan said that closing three elementary schools was actually a conservative decision, as it was recommended that up to five elementary schools should potentially shutter.
“We must make hard data-driven decisions, but then we must execute them with a human focus because the number drive our decisions, but what really measures Judson is how we execute this decision,” Ryan said, stating she was supporting administration’s decision to close three schools.
After discussion, the motion to not close Rolling Meadows failed 2-5.
Subsequently another motion was made to close Rolling Meadows, Park Village Blended Learning Academy and Ed Franz Leadership Academy, effective at the end of the school year. That motion passed 5-2.
Several people who took the stand were seen crying in the courtroom after the vote was finalized.