Judson ISD’s board voted 4-3 to fire Superintendent Dr. Milton Rob Fields III amid wide-ranging allegations. The vote deepened an ongoing divide.
SAN ANTONIO — A contentious Judson ISD matter that led to trustees flinging allegations of impropriety and unfairness came to a head Tuesday night when a divided board voted 4-3 to finalize the firing of its superintendent, Dr. Milton Rob Fields III.
Fields had been on leave since earlier this year, when Trustee Lesley Lee moved to do so citing “an investigation (into) reported concerns.”
The scope of those allegations hadn’t been publicly revealed until Tuesday night, when Board President Monica Ryan spent more than six minutes reading a list of general investigative findings against Fields—claims ranging from fiscal mismanagement and failure of academic leadership to allegations that he didn’t report potential child abuse and brought alcohol to campus.
Ryan said Judson ISD attorneys compiled more than 3,000 pages of evidence against Fields. Among the more damning findings, the district said, were allegations that Fields created a “hostile work environment” by engaging in conduct “intended to humiliate embarrass or threaten employee.”
Trustee Jose Macias, the board’s longest-serving member, however, said the allegations were unsubstantiated, saying they hadn’t been heard by a hearing officer. Earlier this month, the district said Fields decided to pull his request for an independent hearing regarding some board members’ attempts to fire him; Macias on Tuesday said part of his decision was based out of saving himself and the district potentially tens of thousands of dollars.
“A lot of it has no real weight,” Macias said. “It’s all just what our attorneys have to put together to propose termination.”
Fields was not present at Tuesday’s meeting. Nor was Robert Jaklich, who was installed as superintendent on Feb. 17.
Judson ISD is San Antonio’s fourth-biggest school district.
The division goes to back to, January, when a majority of board members – including Ryan – voted to place Fields on leave with pay. But the decision caught Macias and two other board members, Suzanne Kenoyer and Laura Stanford, by surprise; they accused Ryan and three other board members of operating as a walking quorum and making decisions outside of public forums, which would violate the Open Meetings Act.
Macias in February said it amounted to “the most toxic, reckless” behavior he had seen from the board in 16 years. Virtually every vote on the matter since then has seen the same 4-3 divide.
The disagreements deepened when trustees voted to recommend firing Fields in February. At that time, Ryan said that complaints filed by more than 24 teachers included “serious concerns, some of those impacting student safety,” without elaborating further.
A couple weeks later, the board voted to shut down Judson Middle School by the end of the current academic year as part of cost-saving efforts to address a roughly $37 million budget deficit. At that meeting, too, trustees sparred over the addition of separate agenda items and claims of a lack of transparency.
Come Tuesday night, Macias said he could dispute each of the claims levied against Fields. Regarding the claim of fiscal shortcomings, he said the board was deflecting blame onto its now-former superintendent.
Macias tried to stave off termination by proposing to delay the vote—a maneuver intended to allow Fields to instead resign of his own accord.
The effort failed 3-4; he, Kenoyer and Stanford voted for it while Ryan, Lee, Amanda Poteet and Stephanie Jones successfully rejected it.
Stanford claimed that there has been an effort to remove Fields as superintendent since 2023, the same year he was hired. Macias said the “whole episode has divided our district.”
“This is just more evidence that the current board leadership is untrustworthy an should be replaced,” Kenoyer added.
In a news release after the vote, Ryan said the investigation into Fields included “documentary evidence, witness testimony and expert opinion.”
“The Board of Trustees recognizes this moment as a meaningful turning point for our district.” she said in the release. “While difficult, it represents an important reset and a renewed commitment to transparency, student safety, strong leadership and academic excellence.”
Meanwhile, the board meets again on Thursday. On that meeting agenda: discussion to potentially censure Macias, who claims his own requested agenda item to censure Ryan had been removed once publicly posted.