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San Antonio’s Judson Independent School District is considering substantial mid-year layoffs to balance its budget, according to draft plans obtained by TPR through a public records request.
One document compiled by Judson administrators in late October said that if Judson’s VATRE election failed to pass, the district would need to recoup $30 million through a reduction in force.
The plan calls for layoffs across all departments by February with two months’ severance. Each department would be responsible for a set percentage of cuts based on their portion of the total payroll budget.
Another document created in early September recommends permanently closing Judson Middle School, Candlewood Elementary, and Franz Leadership Academy at the end of the current school year.
If trustees approve closing the three schools, the documents predict an annual savings of $4.5 million, which would reduce the amount the district needs to save through layoffs to $25.5 million.
The documents are a work in progress and have not yet been presented to the board for approval. Any major steps in the plan would also require board approval, starting with a declaration of financial exigency.
Trustees were scheduled to discuss the plans during their November 20 board meeting but pushed the discussion on financial solvency until December. Their next board meeting is currently scheduled for December 18.
The Judson school board tasked Superintendent Milton Fields with creating a financial solvency plan in July, after they ended a contract with an outside financial consultant.
District leaders originally estimated this year’s budget deficit to be $37 million, but reforecasting since the budget was approved now estimates the deficit to be $35 million.
In addition to the $30 million reduction in force, the October draft plan recommended cutting $3 million through “non-payroll expense reductions" and $2 million through policy changes to stipends, overtime, and penalties for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS).
According to the plan, Judson could have avoided mid-year layoffs if voters had approved the tax-rate election in November, because the district’s deficit would have been reduced to $14 million. The $5 million in savings through policy changes and non-payroll expense reductions, plus the $4.5 million in savings through closing three schools, would have left the district with a $4.5 million deficit.
“This would (have allowed) the district to avoid a mid-year RIF by addressing the smaller savings target through natural attrition and non-renewal of contracts at the end of the school year, significantly reducing the number of impacted positions," the document said.
A $30 million reduction in force represents about 11% of Judson’s $271 million general fund budget.
The draft financial solvency plans called for trustees to vote on both school consolidations and the reduction in force on December 18, but with the initial discussion of the plans pushed to December, any votes on school closures or layoffs will likely now happen at a later date.
