By Edmond Ortiz
This round of news briefs includes the firing of a Northeast Side school district leader, San Antonio City Council rebuffing a developer’s key request for a proposed massive residential community.
Also, a new flyover ramp at a major North Side freeway intersection has opened to traffic while closures affect traffic in two other local freeway projects.
New flyover ramp opens, and closures affect two freeway projects
The Texas Department of Transportation opened the eighth and final ramp at the reconfigured intersection of Interstate 10 and Loop 1604 on Feb. 5. The newest ramp connects motorists on westbound Loop 1604 to westbound I-10.
The revamp of the I-10/Loop 1604 intersection is a major part of the expansion and improvement of 1604 across the North Side, a project that is due to be completed in 2027.
Elsewhere in downtown, TxDOT announced a full closure of the lower level of northbound Interstate 35 from I-10 to Interstate 37 for bridge joint repairs from Feb. 6 through Feb. 20. All lanes of the upper level will be open.
Also, as part of the I-35 expansion and improvement project, all lanes of the southbound I-35 frontage road from Pat Booker Road to Toepperwein Road will be closed from 9 p.m. Feb. 6 to 5 a.m. Feb. 9. Additionally, eastbound and westbound Pat Booker at the intersection of the southbound I-35 frontage road will be closed during the same time.
Judson ISD ousts superintendent
The Judson Independent School District board voted 4-3 on Feb. 4 to remove Milton Fields as superintendent, a move that was opposed by many community members attending the meeting.
Nearly one month ago, the board voted 4-3 to place Fields on suspension. Without providing details, board President Monica Ryan has cited an internal investigation into complaints that more than 20 employees allegedly submitted regarding Fields.
Ryan said some of the complaints affected what she called student safety. She praised those employees for coming forward with their concerns about Fields.
“I applaud your bravery and for putting students first, even at personal cost to yourself,” Ryan said.
Prior to going into an executive session, before the board voted to fire Fields, trustee Jose Macias moved for a vote to reinstate Fields. The board defeated that motion, 4-3.
Macias said that a narrow school board majority had come up with “bogus” reasons to remove Fields, and that the board had improperly addressed whatever complaints that district employees may have had about Fields.
Macias added that a vote to oust Fields would prompt him to reach out to the Texas Attorney General, Bexar County District Attorney and the Texas Ethics Commission with a complaint about possible violations of the Texas Open Meeting Act.
“My colleagues, you have a chance to be heroes here,” Macias said in moving to reinstate Fields. “This community wants you to be heroes, to be independent thinkers and to say and do what is right. This is wrong, what we’re doing, and there’s an agenda here.”
Several attendees addressed the board, saying firing Fields for no clear, valid reason would further reduce morale among JISD employees and families, make the school district look bad, and even open the district to litigation.
Judson High School teacher Scott Willis had choice words for the board.
“You make me look bad. You make the district look bad. You make all the hard work people do look bad,” he added.
Ryan, board Vice President Amanda Poteet, board Secretary Lesley Lee and trustee Stephanie Jones voted to fire Fields, with Macias, Suzanne Kenoyer and Laura Stanford casting dissenting votes.
The board then voted 5-2 to appoint Mary Duhart-Toppen, deputy superintendent of teaching and learning, interim superintendent. Duhart-Toppen has spent 28 years in education in Texas and Louisiana, including 25 years in Judson ISD. Ryan and Poteet voted to oppose Duhart-Toppen’s appointment.
“I want to assure our community that our teachers, staff, campus leaders, and district cabinet will continue working together collaboratively,” Duhart-Toppen said in a statement.
“We remain confident in the strength of our teams across the district, and together we will stay focused on educating students, supporting staff, serving families, and advancing district priorities.”
San Antonio council rejects Guajolote Ranch petition
San Antonio City Council unanimously voted on Feb. 5 to not endorse a petition to create a special district that would support a massive yet controversial residential development in northwest Bexar County.
The council’s vote follows a recommendation by the city’s planning commission to reject the creation of a municipal utility district (MUD), which developer Lennar Homes seeks to accommodate its proposed Guajolote Ranch subdivision.
The developer proposes building 3,000 homes on 1,160 acres in the Guajolote Ranch area, which sits inside San Antonio’s extraterritorial jurisdiction, and north of the cities of Helotes and Grey Forest.
Lennar Homes’ plan has sparked opposition among residents living near the proposed development site, local environmentalists, and elected officials, including top San Antonio leaders.
Representatives for Lennar said having a taxing district would allow the developer to lay down the groundwork for the Guajolote Ranch subdivision, including the installation of critical supporting infrastructure, such as roads, a water supply, and systems for sewer service, stormwater and wastewater.
Representatives for the development have also maintained that they could still seek authority to create a MUD from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which last fall approved a wastewater permit for the proposed subdivision.
Several attendees addressed the council, saying such a large development could jeopardize a water supply that serves 2 million people, and adversely impact the area’s traffic, drainage and ecology.
An author of a 2020 Southwest Research Institute study stating that a development similar to Guajolote Ranch would negatively impact the Edwards Aquifer recently objected to claims by the San Antonio Water System that the subdivision would have little effect on the aquifer.
Many detractors also said Lennar and its partners do not have the best interest of the immediate community in mind.
Randy Neumann of the Scenic Loop-Helotes Creek Alliance reminded the council and audience that the wastewater permit is under litigation due to alleged errors.
“The law is clear, the protections are clear, and the city’s authority to say no is clear. Approving a MUD now is premature, dangerous and unnecessary,” Neumann added.
But council members said Lennar’s plan has more cons than pros, and that they have an obligation to protect current and future residents living in the Guajolote Ranch area and beyond. The council also voted to not have the city enter into a development agreement with the property owners.
“We cannot afford to make decisions that place the quality of our water supply, and the well-being of both our residents and future generations at risk,” District 10 Councilmember Marc Whyte said in a statement.
