The Judson Independent School District moved to start the firing process of Superintendent Milton “Rob” Fields for “good cause” on Wednesday night.
It was a split 4-3 vote.
The board also appointed Mary Duhart-Toppen, deputy superintendent of teaching and learning, as interim in a 5-2 vote.
It may take another month to half a year for the board to officially fire Fields, said Board President Monica Ryan, depending on whether he chooses to appeal. Until then, Fields will remain on paid leave and the board will have to take another vote.
Fields was first placed on administrative leave in January pending investigation due to “reported concerns.” Instead of using their own legal counsel, the board hired an outside lawyer not associated with the district to conduct the investigation.
Ryan said the investigation turned up “dozens” of employee complaints citing serious concerns, some which could “impact student safety.”
Fields’ employment was brought up twice last year in June and December, though no action was taken at the time.
Jose Macias Jr., the longest-serving board member and a Fields supporter, said Ryan was fishing for a reason to fire Fields and maintains that Field didn’t do anything that warranted termination.
“It’s about inner office politics,” he told the Report. “They just don’t want to work with him.”
Before taking a vote, Macias said he was ready to accuse Ryan of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act to the district attorney, the state attorney general and the Texas Education Agency if the board voted to terminate Fields.
A skeptical community
Public commenters — including parents, district staff and community members — on Wednesday largely relayed frustration with the board for a perceived lack of transparency, lack of due process, lowering morale and fear of state intervention.
When the board first voted to place Fields on leave in January, they voted 6-1 to proceed “as discussed in closed session,” leading several news outlets and community members to believe Fields’ job was safe until the district released a statement hours later clarifying that he was placed on administrative leave.
Paula Johnson is executive director of student engagement at Judson. She was concerned with the board’s “treatment of Fields, and by extension, the cabinet.”
Notably, the board’s cabinet members, which usually sit next to the board sat in the audience section of the board room during the five-hour-long Wednesday meeting.
“When an organization allows manufactured chaos to rule, it signals to every employee in this district that their reputation and their longtime service to this community means nothing,” Johnson said.
Some are also concerned that the board has been violating board policy and state law by posting surprise meeting agendas, allegedly making decisions in private and overreaching from their seats on the dais.
Earlier this week, community member and former Judson ISD parent Lisa Butler filed a temporary restraining order and injunction to reverse the decision to place Fields on administrative leave and require the board to follow state laws on open meetings, which Butler alleges the board president violated when she set the agenda for the Jan. 10 meeting.
The suit is currently pending with the 166th Civil District Court in Bexar County.
Butler was at the Wednesday meeting and said there “would be more to come” for individual trustees depending on which action the board took.
When can a school board fire a superintendent?
Following a predecessor who suddenly left Judson for another district, Fields stepped into the superintendent role in 2023 after serving as deputy superintendent and principal at Wagner High School for several years. He also graduated from the district.
The district is currently facing a $37 million budget deficit and declining enrollment — a contentious issue between Ryan, elected in 2023, and Fields.
Wednesday’s meeting follows months of increasingly tense budget discussions, public spats and several accusatory Facebook posts by board trustees and community members, including Ryan and Macias.
In response to an open records request asking for copies of any formal complaints made by employees, staff or school board members of Judson ISD against Fields between August and Jan 10, district staff said their “search found no responsive documents” via the grievance policy under board policy.
Instead of placing him on paid leave, the district should’ve followed the formal grievance process, Macias said in an interview before the Feb. 4 meeting.
In Texas however, school boards can terminate a superintendent’s contract at any time, whether through retirement, dismissal, non-renewal or voluntary resignation.
Why Judson’s board doesn’t get along
Macias, Suzanne Kenoyer and Laura Stanford are the board’s most senior members, and have often thrown their support behind Fields and his administrative staff as Ryan and the three newest members go against the administration, especially when discussing budget plans.
During public meetings and on social media, Kenoyer and Macias have accused Ryan of lying to get rid of Fields. “This process is disgusting,” Kenoyer said.
“There’s not a really good reason to do it in the middle of the year with no CFO, ” Stanford added.
In October, district chief financial officer Tony Kingman resigned his position two months into the job.
In November, the district went out for a voter approved tax rate increase as a way to address the deficit, increase pay and keep student programs. Voters overwhelmingly said no with 60% of 14,701 voters opposing the proposition.
The board tabled attempts by Fields to hire a new CFO, and the position remains empty. At the time, Ryan cited concerns about the applicant’s qualifications and wanting Judson to take its time in hiring someone crucial to the district’s financial planning.
Hiring a CFO hasn’t been publicly discussed since November, but district staff are currently working on a “financial solvency plan,” recommending campus closures and staff rightsizing.
Judson’s board is set to vote on how many campuses will close to support the financial plan on Feb. 9.
School board elections last May brought three new faces to the board: Lesley Lee, Amanda Poteet and Stephanie Jones, trustees who usually take Ryan’s lead, especially during votes about the district’s financial planning or actions pertaining to Fields’ contract.
It was Lee who officially kicked off the January motion to place Fields on leave pending an “investigation of reported concerns.”
Macias admitted that advisors from the Texas Association of School Boards have asked for board members to cool their public comments, but he said he’s never seen the district go through such a “dark and chaotic” time in his 15-year run on the board.
Throughout all of these events, Fields has remained quiet, saying that he didn’t know what the investigation was about when he was first placed on leave.
Right before being placed on leave, Fields hired attorney Karl Tiger Hanner to represent him, and at the time, Hanner said Fields would appeal the board’s action against him.
Hanner and Fields were not at Wednesday night’s meeting.
