Judson ISD addresses budget deficit; Next step in new ballpark stadium approved; Federal cuts impact Texas AARP

This is TPR's roundup of the latest headlines and news developments. It provides a summary of the stories TPR is following.

Today's weather: It will be mostly cloudy in the morning, then gradually clear for a high near 92 and a low around 64 tonight.

Judson ISD weighs options to address budget deficit

Judson ISD is holding a series of town halls to get community input on what the district should do to reduce next year’s projected $48 million deficit.

At a meeting late last week, attendees were asked what they wanted the board to protect and what they were willing to cut.

District officials have presented trustees with a range of ways to save money, including increasing class sizes, reducing the salary of uncertified teachers, and potentially asking voters to approve a tax rate increase in November.

Education

Class size, librarians, tax rate: Judson ISD weighs options to reduce budget deficit

Camille Phillips

Judson ISD, like many districts in Bexar County and across the state, is staring down another year of deficit spending and looking for ways to trim next year’s budget.

Lawsuit that could end protections for some special needs students paused

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and 16 other states sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last year on whether gender dysphoria could be classified as a disability.

The so-called 504 plan — which includes the gender dysphoria section — covers more than 400,000 students in Texas who have disabilities, but don’t require special education services.

The accommodations cover conditions such as ADHD, hearing and visual impairment, dyslexia and emotional disorders.

SA City Council takes step in Missions downtown stadium

The council voted to establish the San Pedro Creek Development Authority, the entity that will eventually own the ballpark itself if the plans move forward.

Now city council, the Missions ownership group, Bexar County, and real estate developer Weston Urban — along with the development authority — can petition the state for a new tax district in the immediate area of the ballpark that will pay for most or all of the costs for the $160 million stadium.

Those taxes would be levied against guaranteed new development from Weston Urban.

Texas AARP feels impact of federal cuts

The Social Security Administration has announced job cuts, office closures, and other sweeping changes that will impact seniors and people with disabilities.

Tina Tran, director of the Texas chapter of AARP, said older clients are waiting on hold for over six hours and the Social Security Administration's website has continued to crash.

Tran said the agency is at a “crisis point” as a result of layoffs and funding cuts at the federal level.

4.8 million Texans collect some form of Social Security assistance.

Correction: A previous version of this report misstated which agency's web site recently crashed. It was the Social Security Administration's website.

NCAA Final Four in San Antonio by the numbers

The 2025 NCAA Final Four tournament and related events in San Antonio saw record-breaking attendance earlier this month.

Nearly 135,000 people attended the national semi-final and championship game. It was also the most-watched men's Final Four weekend since 2017.

Around 130,000 people attended musical festival performances.

This was the 5th time San Antonio has hosted the NCAA Men's Final Four.

The Texas Newsroom's Lucio Vasquez contributed to this report.

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