This story has been updated.
After holding a special Saturday meeting to discuss and take possible action on the superintendent’s employment, Judson Independent School District trustees voted to place Milton Fields on leave and appoint assistant superintendent Lacey Gosch as acting superintendent “until further notice.”
“Since this involves confidential personnel matters, we will not be commenting any further,” said Board President Monica Ryan in a statement after the meeting.
Board members did not publicly discuss this specific decision, instead voting on a decision “as discussed in closed session.”
Gosch joined Judson ISD in 2021.
Judson’s board room was packed during the noon meeting, filled with supporters of Fields.
Fields has been superintendent since 2023, after serving Judson as a deputy superintendent and principal at Wagner High School for several years. He also graduated from the district.
It’s not the first time the board has discussed the superintendent’s employment. On Dec. 9, Judson held a special meeting to “consider and take possible action regarding the employment, evaluation and duties of the superintendent.”
No action was taken by the board in December but Ryan said Saturday’s meeting was a continuation of it.
Ryan declined to comment after Saturday’s five-hour meeting, but later sent a statement. Much of the meeting was held in closed session.
The board evaluates Fields twice a year and his next evaluation was scheduled for the end of January.
The exact nature of the issue being raised by some board members remains unclear.
Support for Fields splits Judson board
The May 2025 elections brought in three new faces on the seven-member board: Amanda Poteet, Lesley Lee and Stephanie Jones.
Since then, several board votes concerning the budget have often been split among longer-serving trustees and the new guard, including Ryan who was elected in 2023 and stepped into the board president position last year.
The more tenured trustees — Macias Jr., Laura Stanford and Suzanne Kenoyer — tend to vote in line with recommendations from district administration, while Ryan and new board members dissent.
Public comments from parents, district employees and even a former Judson board member often got emotional, blaming newer board members and Ryan for the district’s hesitancy in making concrete budgetary decisions to address the deficit.
“Judson ISD needs studied and experienced leadership. Dr Fields has provided that,” said Arnoldo Salinas, a former Judson employee and trustee who lost his seat on the board to trustee Poteet last year.
“The behavior and the vision we have seen at the board level is unacceptable,” Salinas said. “Public disputes and personal agendas undermine trust and damage the credibility of this district. Most importantly, they hurt students who deserve stability and clear direction.”
Most comments also criticized board members for often acting divisively, micromanaging and often being at odds with the district administration, including Fields and his senior administrators.
Vague ‘reports of concerns’ spark latest action
Questions about whether the board could even legally hold the Saturday meeting arose.
Trustee Kenoyer, who’s been on the board since 2017, said there should have been no meeting in the first place since Judson policy says the superintendent should prepare agendas for all board meetings.
But it was Lee who put the item concerning Fields’ employment on Saturday’s agenda
“It’s violating board policy. Not appropriate,” Kenoyer said.
Lee, elected to the board last year, said Fields “is a good man” who she has known since her son was enrolled at Judson.
Then, with tears in her eyes and after nearly two hours of public comments, she moved to relieve the superintendent of his duties and place him on administrative leave pending “investigation of reported concerns” with pay.
Lee later withdrew her motion after the board went into closed session twice to speak with legal counsel over the phone.
It’s unclear which reported concerns Lee was referring to and Macias, a supporter of Fields, said he didn’t know what the concerts were about either.
Trustee Stanford also said the board had no idea what the investigation was about.
“I’m clueless what this is about, and I shouldn’t be,” Stanford said.
“I have no freaking clue what Ms. Lee is talking about,” Kenoyer added.
During the meeting, Ryan publicly accused board members of lying about not knowing what Lee’s concerns were about.
Tense budget discussions
Judson ISD is currently facing a $37 million budget deficit — the topic of several tense discussions in recent months.
Last May, the board got very close in approving a budgetary plan that would’ve saved Judson millions through campus consolidations and staff reductions.
Getting community pushback and feeling like recommendations to close schools was too close to the end of the school year, the board voted against closures and delayed taking budgetary action.
Later, Judson went after a voter approved tax rate election in November that would’ve unlocked millions of dollars Judson planned to use on the deficit, increase salaries and support teacher programs.
Taxpayers overwhelmingly said no, with 60% of 14,701 voters opposing the proposition.
Budget discussions have grown especially tense in the months after, leading to outright spats and pointed Facebook posts from board members.
The latest budget discussions occurred in December, when the district administration planned to present a financial solvency plan with proposals for consolidations and rightsizing of staff.
But Ryan, along with Poteet, Lee and Jones voted to table the item, citing concerns over “last-minute” changes to plans previously shared with the board.
Fields said Ryan’s concerns were “disingenuous,” since Ryan has often asked the administration to write and rewrite financial plans to address the budget deficit.
The board has also rejected Field’s efforts to hire a chief financial officer. Now, Judson has gone without a CFO since October, when Tony Kingman quit after working at the district for only two months. Before that, Larry Guerra held the position for just over a year before resigning in July.
Over the past three years, Judson has gone through four CFOs.
Last year, the board approved hiring an outside financial consultant, spending thousands of dollars — an effort spearheaded by Ryan.
What comes next
Karl Hanner is Fields’ personal lawyer. In an interview with the Report, Hanner said Fields officially hired him when Saturday’s agenda meeting was first posted, but has known the superintendent for years.
Hanner said the board can’t cancel Fields’ contract on their own, only allowed to place him on leave pending investigation. If the board voted to place him on leave, Hanner said Fields would appeal.
“There’s nothing. There’s no documentation to support them doing this,” Hanner said.
After the meeting ended Fields was crowded by members of the community who were there to support him.
He declined to speak with media but addressed the room.
“I don’t know what it’s about, but thank you so much for your support,” he said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story initially reported that the board took no action, however the board confirmed it voted to place Superintendent Milton Fields on paid administrative leave.
