UNIVERSAL CITY, Texas – Judson ISD spokeswoman Lexi Greathouse said Friday that the school board voted only to propose termination of teacher Matthew Short, after initially saying in two statements they voted to terminate him.
The vote occurred during a Jan. 22 board meeting and trustees voted to propose termination of Matthew Short’s contract, the district said.
Short was recently elected as a Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD board member.
The district also said Friday that Short is barred from all Judson ISD classrooms after he was placed on leave on Nov. 19.
A police report obtained by KSAT Investigates shows he was accused of abandoning several children at a Judson ISD elementary school on Nov. 17, hours before being sworn in as board member at another district.
The police report does not list him by name, but two sources have told KSAT Investigates that he is the person investigated in the report.
Two days before the district placed Short on leave, a Judson ISD Police Department report shows a teacher was involved in an incident that happened around 4 p.m. on Nov. 17, 2025, at Salinas Elementary School. KSAT Investigates obtained the report through a public records request.
Six elementary school students reported that their teacher brought them to the front of the school after tutoring, got in his car, drove away and did not return, records show.
Records said Short told a district staff member that he needed to leave early that day and moved his vehicle so he would not be blocked in by parents picking up their children.
Short also allegedly told the staffer he “needed to be on the other side of town” about a half-hour later and left after noticing “most of the kids” had been picked up.
According to the police report, video disputes Short’s claim that he drove up to the school after getting in his car to check on the students.
Approximately two hours after leaving Salinas Elementary School, video showed Short at the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD board meeting where he was sworn in later that evening. He was elected as a trustee in November 2025.
Short spoke to KSAT Friday and said the allegations were untrue and that they were not the reason the board took action to propose his termination in January.
“An accusation was made, the investigation happened, and they ruled. Nothing came of that in November. In January, they proposed termination for a separate matter. They are not connected,” he told KSAT. He refused to explain what he believed caused the board to propose termination.
We reached out to Judson ISD’s police department to see if Short had been cleared of wrongdoing in the November incident, but the department referred us to the district spokesperson. The spokesperson told KSAT Investigates Friday afternoon that the situation is an ongoing legal matter, adding the district could not provide additional details.
The police incident report says officers investigated a charge of assaulting, abandoning or endangering a child. However, court records show Short is not facing any criminal charges in connection to the incident.
A Department of Family Protective Services spokesperson confirmed to KSAT Investigates on Jan. 23 that the incident had been reported to the agency, but could not say what findings may have resulted from the case.
Judson ISD spokeswoman Lexi Greathouse told KSAT Investigates that “the district complied with all policies and procedures in addressing this matter with the Board of Trustees. Because this involves a personnel matter, the district is unable to provide additional details related to the Board Action.”
Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD also initially issued a statement saying they were aware of the board voted to terminate Short, but later changed its statement to specify that Judson ISD “proposed termination” of Short’s probationary contract.
Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD spokesman Ed Suarez told KSAT Investigates in an email, “Because this is a private employment matter involving a school board member in their role as a private citizen, we will make no further comment. The district remains focused on serving our students, families, and school community. He was employed at SCUC from August 2023 to May 2025.”
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
CORRECTION: This article has been corrected to reflect that Matthew Short is on leave and has not been fired from the district, following a new statement from a school district spokesperson which said the board has only voted to propose termination of Short’s contract. Previously the school district told KSAT twice in two written communications that the board had voted to terminate his contract.