Judson ISD plans to close four under-capacity schools amid declining enrollment and impact from state voucher programs, aiming to minimize student disruption.
SAN ANTONIO — Another local school district is planning to close schools. Judson ISD’s board of trustees voted Monday night to close four schools, including an elementary school and a middle school.
The vote passed 6 to 1 with one school board member pushing for a more conservative approach.
According to the district, many of the Judson ISD campuses are not at capacity, with some of them at only 50 or 60 percent capacity. The district is predicting enrollment will fall even further in the next couple of years.
Board members expressed concern about school choice programs and the new voucher program offered by the state that was rolled out this year. That program allows parents to apply for and receive money to help pay for private schools. There is also concern that many students are dropping out of public schools to be homeschooled.
The board targeted three elementary schools and one middle school to close.
“I think anything less, we will be back to next year closing something else and that would just disrupt where we redrew the lines and put those kids in campuses. And we need to minimize the impact to students the best we can,” Board President Monica Ryan said.
Board member Jose Macias was the only vote against the decision to close the four campuses. He was pushing for only one elementary and one middle school to close, arguing a lot could change between now and next year.
This also comes just after Judson ISD voted to remove the previous superintendent, Milton Fields III, after alleged complaints from teachers.
Saturday, Feb. 14, the school board will continue to discuss which possible schools to close down. The meeting starts at 9 a.m. to allow families to give input as well.
This is a developing story and further updates will be added as they are received.