Northeast San Antonio Metrocom | March 2026

BY AMIRA VAN LEEUWEN

In their own words

Digging deeper

“I will repeat what I’ve said to most of you, which is this is really, really hard stu, hard decisions to make, and I do appreciate all the input.” SUZANNE KENOYER, JISD BOARD MEMBER

Board President Monica Ryan said closing a school can feel like closing a door—but doing so creates other opportunities. “Consolidation brings expanded resources, broader programming and increased opportunities for our students,” Ryan said during the Feb. 16 meeting. During the Feb. 24 meeting, trustee José Macias Jr. said the district should explore other options before closing campuses.

Now that the board has voted to close schools, JISD administration will update its budget, Ryan said in an email to Community Impact. JISD has about $276 million in annual expenses, which means it costs about $750,000 to operate the district daily. JISD is projected to have a fund balance, which is essentially a savings account, of $51.74 million at the end of the FY 2025-26. This is equal to about 74 days of operating expenses, Jaklich told Community Impact . The Texas Education Agency recommends that districts maintain at least 90 days of operating expenses in their fund balance. Dropping below the recommended fund balance can negatively impact the district’s credit rating for bond sales, thus exacerbat- ing nancial diculties, according to past Community Impact reporting.

AMIRA VAN LEEUWENCOMMUNITY IMPACT

What the community is saying

“Please consider the voices of the students who learn and grow here.” MIRIAM OMAR, A 5TH GRADER AT ROLLING MEADOWS ELEMENTARY

Levi Jones, a JISD parent to children with disabilities, said this would be the third year in a row that he has been uncertain about where his children would attend school. He said his kids, who currently attend Park Village Blended Learning Academy, have been moved to dierent schools due to program changes. “Please look at the community that we are try- ing to educate and please, do not rob my children of their educational success,” Jones said during the Feb. 21 meeting. Lakisha Owners, a substitute teacher and former assistant principal at Judson Middle, said the decision was going to hurt kids. “We have a lot of Black and brown kids in our school, and it just seems like it is going to hurt them so much because now you’re uprooting a whole community,” Owens said. Heather Smith, a teacher at Franz, said the school is a ‘B’ rated campus that is not in decline.

Judson ISD ending fund balance

AMIRA VAN LEEUWENCOMMUNITY IMPACT

$150M

$127.6M $123.74M

“Parents have already stated that if Franz closes, they will be moving their students to charter schools. That does not solve enrollment decline; it accelerates it.” Kristi Wlodarczyk, a teacher at Rolling Mead- ows, said her school is ranked third in the district for reading and math growth, and attendance has increased. “We’re not failing, we’re not declining, we’re thriving. Closing us would not balance your spreadsheet; it would dismantle a community that is doing everything right,” Wlodarczyk said.

$101.51M

$86.54M

$100M

$51.74M

$50M

-14.89%

Fiscal year

SOURCE: JUDSON ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT

*THIS IS THE DISTRICT’S ENDING FUND BALANCE AS OF FEB. 27.

What happens next?

School sta. Jaklich said their goal is to reduce their 2026-27 budget to $236 million. The district also has not had a chief nancial ocer since November. Ocials plan to ll the position as soon as a qualied candidate is selected, according to an email from the district. For additional resources, district families and sta can visit www.judsonisd.org/o/jisd/page/ school-consolidations .

Blended Learning Academy would go to Hartman or Paschall Elementary. Students attending Rolling Meadows would go to Selma Elementary. The district will also establish a revised timeline and process for school of choice and in-and-out- of-district transfers, the presentation states. During the Feb. 24 meeting, Lacey Gosch, assistant superintendent of technology, said the district has already met with Judson Middle

JISD ocials will nalize boundary lines, establish bus routes, publish school closure timelines, and share registration processes and locations now that the decision has been made, according to the Feb. 24 board presentation. Although district boundaries would have to be redrawn, the board presentation suggested that students attending Franz would attend the Fine Arts Academy at Olympia or Crestview Elementary. Students attending Park Village

NORTHEAST SAN ANTONIO METROCOM EDITION