By Edmond Ortiz
On the Northeast Side, one school district is mulling campus consolidations and reduction in teaching positions to help decrease its budget deficit, while a neighboring school district is launching a citizens committee to develop solutions toward cutting its own fiscal shortfall.
‘Hard decisions’ in Judson ISD
The end of 2025 finds Judson and Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City independent school districts saddled with the challenge of finding ways to attack their respective budget deficits. This comes after voters in each district rejected property tax proposals in the November elections.
Judson ISD officials have not yet made any formal decision regarding proposed plans to go after a budget deficit that now stands at more than $40 million.
School board members met Dec. 18, originally scheduled to discuss the district’s proposed corrective and preventative action plans, but voted 4-3 to push that conversation to their Jan. 22 meeting.
School board President Monica Ryan and a few other trustees complained that JISD staff had revealed some new numbers in the deficit-reduction plan just prior to the December board meeting, and that members did not have enough time to review those details.
“This is affecting our teachers’ lives, this is affecting our students’ lives,” board Vice President Amanda Poteet said. “That’s why I want to make sure…that I can live with myself and look at myself in the mirror the next day and say this is what needed to be done.”
Judson ISD officials are currently weighing two deficit-reduction plans, which they said are designed to address immediate financial needs and secure long-term fiscal practices.
One plan calls for staff attrition, reducing positions, probationary contracts and non-renewals, contract expirations, a soft hiring freeze, class consolidations, employee reassignments, and other policy changes. District administrators suggested these and other measures could get Judson ISD back to a nearly balanced budget in the 2027-2028 school year. District staffers have considered a reduction in force, but have not officially recommended that move.
A second plan calls for the closure of one middle school and two elementary schools, a move that could yield between $4 million and $6 million in annual savings, according to JISD staff. District officials are also mulling closing the Spanish immersion program at Wortham Oaks Elementary School.
While some trustees sought to table the discussion at their Dec. 18 meeting, other officials wanted to begin talking about cost-cutting measures that are going to grab community members’ attention and perhaps cause anxiety among many employees.
“If we’re going to announce a closure of schools, we ought to do it now,” trustee Jose Macias said.
Some tension arose between the school board and Superintendent Milton Fields, who insisted fellow administrators did their best to prepare trustees before the Dec. 18 meeting, and that district staff was ready to start talking about suggested spending cuts.
“We’re here to make the hard decisions.” Fields said.
But Ryan responded she and other board members did not have the time to fully discuss any such deficit-reduction measures before the winter break.
“That’s not responsible decision-making.” Ryan added.
SCUCISD looks to future actions
The Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD, earlier in December, announced the creation of an operational sustainability committee to study the district’s financial condition and help come up with long-range. SCUCISD presently faces a budget deficit of more than $10 million.
According to SCUCISD officials, the new committee will have employees, parents, and community members reviewing factors that influence the school district’s budget, and providing recommendations aimed at decreasing the deficit and shoring up long-term finances. More specifically, the committee – which is due to meet between February and May 2026 – will also examine such things as state funding, enrollment trends, staffing needs, and how resources are allocated across campuses, departments, and student programs.
The school board will review the committee’s findings and recommendations in late spring or early summer.
“This committee is part of a broader effort to strengthen transparency, deepen community understanding, and ensure SCUC is well-positioned to meet both current needs and future challenges.
While this committee is looking at how best to eliminate SCUCISD’s budget shortfall and make operations more cost-effective, the school district’s community advisory committee recently recommended to the board priorities for a possible May 2026 bond election.
SCUCISD officials said a new potential bond, currently estimated at nearly $300 million, would address improving existing campuses. The board is expected to decide at its Feb. 12 meeting whether to call a May 2 bond election.
