LIVE OAK, Texas – The Judson Independent School District board voted 6-1 to close four campuses across the district as a potential cost-saving measure to address a $37 million deficit for the 2025-26 school year.
The closure plan includes one middle school and three elementary schools.
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It is not yet clear which schools are at risk of closing. Judson ISD interim Superintendent Mary Duhart-Toppen shared four scenarios for planning campus consolidations during the Feb. 9 special board meeting.
- Scenario one is to close two schools. This would include one middle and one elementary school to reduce the deficit by $4 million, or 11% of the total deficit.
- Scenario two is to close one middle and two elementary schools to reduce the deficit by $5.5 million, or 15% of the total deficit.
- Scenario three is to close one middle and three elementary schools to reduce the deficit by $7 million, or 19% of the total deficit.
- Scenario four involves closing five schools. This would include one middle and four elementary schools to reduce the deficit by $8.5 million, or 23% of the total deficit.
“Our recommendation coming from cabinet is that we close four campuses,” Duhart-Toppen said. “Three elementary schools, one middle school going into next school year.”
The consolidations will impact non-instructional spaces on the campuses, including classrooms used for offices and classrooms used for small-group instruction, according to Duhart-Toppen.
“We’re going to have to utilize every single classroom on that campus to get to the utilization we need,” Duhart-Toppen said.
Judson ISD Board President Monica Ryan and Duhart-Toppen clarified that the school consolidation would then be leveled across the district so that schools average a similar number of students, rather than some schools being at maximum utilization while others are not.
“There’s, I think a lot of things that we can give to our students by taking away some of that building costs and that money being able to go toward programs and services for our students,” Ryan said.
Trustee Jose Macias Jr. suggested option one so the board could gain a clearer vision of how Texas Education Freedom Accounts will impact Judson ISD enrollment.
“Let’s work with something tangible like two campuses, which is minimal,” Macias said.
Macias proposed making one decision on school closures at the Feb 9 meeting and making the next decision in December 2026.
However, the board overwhelmingly voted to close more than two campuses during the Monday evening meeting.
Macias also said one of the campuses that’s being considered for closure is Judson Middle School, which resides in his district.
“It’s a conversation that we’ve been having transparently with the community for over a year. It looks like that day is coming where that will be one of the schools that’s mentioned,” Macias said.
Trustee Suzanne Kenoyer voted in favor of scenario three and said scenario four would reflect closing too many schools.
“I hate to close schools,” Kenoyer said. “There’s a lot of history and amazing programs that are going on, but we’re unfortunately in a position where we’re going to have to make those choices.”
Board member Laura Stanford spoke about the impact of homeschooling and “school vouchers,” and voted in favor of scenario three.
“I would rather pull this band-aid off as quickly as we can,” Vice President Amanda Poteet said.
Board member Laura Lee also suggested scenario three, which ultimately received the most votes and passed. close a total of four schools.
“The magic of Judson is in the people, not in the bricks,” Ryan said. “By redrawing our district, we have a chance to kind of re-gain that equity and make sure we’re doing the best for all kids across our district.”
Ryan asked for Duhart-Toppen to present the board with specific names for school closures by the next meeting, with the board set to discuss those school closures at 9 a.m. on Feb. 14. The board will vote on those closures during a board meeting on Feb. 16.
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