LIVE OAK, Texas – The Judson Independent School District board voted to close four schools in the district to partially address a $37 million deficit.
According to Board President Monica Ryan, the following schools are up for discussion to be closed:
- Kitty Hawk Middle School
- Judson Middle School
- Park Village Blended Learning
- Ed Franz Leadership
- Rolling Meadows Elementary
- Millers Point Elementary
- Spring Meadows Elementary
The district plans to close one middle school and three elementary schools.
Hayden is in fourth grade and previously attended Ed Franz. His family had to homeschool him for personal reasons during the 2025-26 school year but already made plans to put him back in Ed Franz for the 2026-27 school year.
Jessica Miele, Hayden’s mother, said she will only return her son to the district after his one year of homeschool if Ed Franz remains open.
“Ed Franz is one of the best places to be, in my opinion,” Miele said. “I’m worried if I reenroll them into Ed Franz and it’s just gone, where are we supposed to go? I’m probably going to keep them homeschooled.”
Hayden’s mom is not able to take him to the upcoming school board meetings, so he wrote a letter to the school board and shared it with KSAT.
“To vote to close our schools, they are not just closing a building, they’re taking away a safe place for kids like me,” Hayden said. “Starting over is scary, especially when you have already been bullied by someone else. I don’t want to lose my friends, and I don’t want to lose my teachers who believe in me.”
Vanessa Lucio, a Judson ISD parent with students who previously attended Ed Franz and Kitty Hawk Middle, said she’s angry.
“I’m a taxpayer, I have thousand dollars in property taxes every year and ... I don’t see what we have to show for it when programs in schools keep getting cut,” Lucio said. “It seems like they’re being very active, not very proactive, and so that’s a separate problem. And then this thing with the superintendent comes out, and then nobody’s allowed to talk about it.”
Other families in the district who were not available for an interview sent KSAT emails and messages via social media.
One parent wrote about their unanswered questions on existing overcrowding, teacher-to-student ratios and academic performance. The same parent questioned what the emotional impact will be on students, “particularly those with IEPs (individualized education programs) or specialized services”.
“My child attends Kitty Hawk MS,” one parent wrote. “We have 5th graders thy need to decide on electives and prepare for the transition to middle school, but no one is able to do this. At the meeting on 2/11 the board admitted that they have ‘fumbled’ things. This is a disgrace to JISD.”
“Why they are not looking at closing Kirby MS since it is close to TEA (Texas Education Agency) takeover and an older building?” a parent asked.
“Spring Meadows Elementary is in risk of closing, and this will affect our family because my daughter is receiving extra help and she’s doing way better now and moving her from school might affect her because she will have to get used to go to a new place, with new people, new teachers, new students,” another parent emailed.
The Judson ISD school board will have a special called meeting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14, to discuss the schools on the potential closure list. The district will vote on which middle school to close on Monday, Feb. 16.
Read also: