After slashing their nearly $35 million budget shortfall down to nearly $6 million Judson ISD is facing a new hurdle. The school district is now being investigated by the Texas Education Agency. Board president Monica Ryan says many of the allegations being investigated are old claims that have already been found to be false.
The TEA is investigating whether Ryan threatened trustees and former superintendent Dr. Milton Fields, if the district properly posted the agenda for the Jan. 10 meeting where DR. Fields was placed on administrative leave, and if the board president use her authority to give her child special treatment, among other allegations.
“She has used her position as the board president to get favors and special classes for her child that are not available to the everyday student,” Lisa Butler said.
Ryan denies the allegations and says an outside investigation has found the claims false.
Lisa Butler says she and other members of the community submitted all the complaints except for the three complaints alleging former superintendent Dr. Fields failed to report abuse of a student.
“I’m not sure how that got to TEA, but those were included in the termination of the superintendent,” Ryan said.
Ryan says she is confident that Judson ISD will not be taken over by the TEA, but she is concerned that three Judson ISD trustees, Laura Stanford, Suzanne Kennoyer, and Jose Macias, contacted the TEA.
“We found our that those three board members wrote a letter to the TEA with these same allegations and asked for our district to be taken over,” Ryan said.
District 4 trustee Jose Macias gave the following statement:
” I welcome an independent investigation by the Texas Education Agency and will cooperate in any capacity necessary to ensure accountability is met. There have been serious issues pertaining to our Board President’s conduct and abuse of her board authority that must be investigated.
I do not have the authority to request a TEA takeover, that decision will be determined throughout this investigative process.”
Ryan says the TEA investigation is an expensive process and is costing the school district nearly $10,000 to respond to the allegations.