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School board trustees at Judson Independent School District narrowly voted 4-3 to postpone voting on the district's financial solvency plan until January.
The district needs to cut about $30 million in staffing and programs in order to regain their financial footing after voters rejected a VATRE election last month.
Board President Monica Ryan pushed to delay the vote. She argued the plan document was updated late Wednesday, breaking board policy of posting agenda items at least three business days before their meetings.
“We’re talking tens of millions (of dollars) in cuts were added 22 hours before this meeting convened,” Ryan said. “At this point, I don’t even feel prepared to discuss it.”
The three newly elected trustees — Amanda Poteet, Lesley Lee, and Stephanie Jones — voted with Ryan to postpone the vote.
Superintendent Milton Fields said the plan was updated because the consultant firm of Moak Casey gave them updated budget numbers that projected a higher than previously projected deficit.
He voiced strong opposition to pushing the vote.
"We're here to make the hard decisions. It's unfair to the students, to the employees, and to the community to keep pushing this off,” he said.
Earlier this month, TPR first reported on a draft financial solvency plan obtained by an open records request. The plan, written by Judson administrators in October, proposed a mid-year reduction in force.
Superintendent Fields later said at a special board meeting he did not plan on recommending people lose their jobs this year. Administrators instead suggested making cuts through attrition and by not renewing contracts.
Trustee José Macias proposed discussing and voting on big ticket items that have been on the plan for a while, including a proposal to close three schools and whether or not to cut the budget deficit in one year or two years.
The postponed vote also delayed a decision to close the district’s Spanish immersion program at Wortham Oaks Elementary.
Several communities spoke in opposition of cutting the program during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Pamela Pingel spoke about the necessity for the program.
“The Spanish language has been built into the culture of this wonderful city,” she said. “I believe that all of us here in this room have a responsibility to the children in this community to keep this legacy going and teach them this legacy.”
In other board news, trustees also came out of closed session without voting on the agenda item to hire a Chief Financial Officer — something that's now been delayed multiple times.
