The Southwest Independent School District has selected former Judson ISD Superintendent Jeanette Ball as the lone finalist for their next superintendent.
Ball abruptly resigned from Judson ISD in November for reasons that were not publicly explained.
SWISD trustees voted 4 to 2 to name Ball as finalist Tuesday evening. Yolanda Garza-Lopez and Peter Bernal voted against her appointment. Board President Sylvester Vasquez Jr was absent and did not vote.
Before the vote, Garza-Lopez said Ball was the only candidate with “some red flags,” but she didn’t go into detail about what she thought those red flags were.
“We had almost 40 candidates. Any of the top 10 would have been consensus candidates — could have been a consensus candidate — except Dr. Ball,” Garza-Lopez said.
Board-Vice President Ida Sudolcan was part of the majority in favor of hiring Ball. She said any issues had been addressed.
Ball was Judson’s superintendent from 2018 until November 2022. She was a teacher and administrator at Southwest ISD prior to being hired as Uvalde CISD’s superintendent in 2013.
There will be a mandatory 21 day waiting period before Ball is offered a contract and officially hired.
Southwest ISD began searching for a new superintendent in October after Lloyd Verstuyft announced his retirement. Verstuyft is retiring at the end of the school year after 33 years with SWISD. He’s served as the district’s superintendent since 2009.
Southwest ISD is the fifth largest district in Bexar County, with more than 13,000 students.
