By Edmond Ortiz
Following the defeat of their property tax proposal, leaders at Judson Independent School District say they hope to refrain from draconian measures while addressing a $37 million budget deficit and other difficult fiscal challenges.
What you should know
On Nov. 4, Judson ISD voters rejected a ballot item where JISD sought to raise its property tax rate in order to provide their faculty and staff with pay raises, and to maintain academic support programs.
Two other local school districts saw their similar property tax proposals go down to defeat on Election Day, while the Boerne Independent School District saw its property tax proposal prevail with voters.
Judson ISD officials have said post-election speculation among community members has only increased about how the district could cut significant costs, including consolidating or shuttering campuses.
In response to the speculation, JISD administrators issued a statement Nov. 20, confirming that no decisions related to budget cuts have been made.
But administrators also said they must weigh the potential for campus consolidation or closures among spending reduction efforts while preparing the district budget for the 2026-2027 academic year.
“Any future recommendations will come from the (JISD) growth and planning committee. These decisions will be driven by data, which will include data from a comprehensive facilities assessment conducted by RVK and Corgan, and the latest information from our demographic report,” the district administrators stated.
District administrators urged community members to stay atop growth and planning committee news, meetings and announcements. Committee meetings are open to the public.
What they are saying
Caroleena Mancilla, chair of the Together for Judson Schools Political Action Committee, the group that campaigned for the property tax proposal, addressed the school board on Nov. 20.
Mancilla said community members must keep in mind the possible difficult decisions that Judson ISD leaders will have to make in order to pare down the budget deficit.
She also said it is important for JISD officials and residents to cooperate in a time when many residents, faculty and staff members have expressed frustration with leadership, especially the school board, which has undergone infighting.
So much so that District 4 trustee and former board president Jose Macias moved on Nov. 20 to reorganize board officers months sooner than scheduled, citing his and a few other trustees’ issues with current board President Monica Ryan. The board voted 4-3 against reorganizing officer positions for now.
“Because the (property tax proposal) did not pass, Judson ISD now faces a significant loss of potential revenue – revenue that would have supported programs, staffing and services that our students rely on every single day. It is not a scare tactic, it is our reality,” Mancilla said.
The board did vote to revise the district’s 2025-26 property tax rate at 97.9 cents per $100 valuation. It is a drop from the $1.03 rate that JISD levied last school year, but shorter than the $1.07 rate that district officials hoped to have voters approve on Election Day.
