This story has been updated.
After a lengthy and involved search process, interim Superintendent Milton Fields on Thursday was named as the lone finalist to lead the Judson Independent School District.
The Judson school board began the search for a superintendent after the unexpected departure of Jeanette Ball, who now has the top job at the Southwest Independent School District.
On Dec. 1, trustees named Fields as the interim superintendent.
Parents, community members and teachers cheered and lined up to congratulate and meet the new leader during a brief pause in the meeting before he returned to the dais to get back to work.
“If you would have told me at Live Oak Elementary or Kitty Hawk … ‘you’re going to be superintendent,’ I would have laughed,” the Judson High School graduate said.
During brief remarks, he thanked his family and said the selection was a prayer answered.
Fields retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2001 after 20 years of honorable service and began his career in the Northside Independent School District in 2002 as a business teacher and coach at Taft High School.
He has also served as a principal, assistant principal and assistant superintendent.
Fields received his Bachelor’s degree in business from Wayland Baptist University and a dual Master’s degree in human resources and management from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. In 2016, he received his doctorate in educational leadership from the Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
His tenure in so many roles set up “the perfect scenario” for his selection, Fields said.
Jennifer Rodriguez, the board president, told reporters after the announcement that through community forums and surveys, it became clear that the Judson community wanted consistency. The lifelong Live Oak resident, who grew up just houses away from where he was named as superintendent, said he has no plans on leaving.
“It was a really thorough process that I think helped us learn what our community wanted and needed from a superintendent and helped us make the right choice for the district,” Rodriguez said.
The board will soon decide on a budget for the upcoming school year amid an uncertain time for public schools as possible funding increases are discussed in the Texas Legislature, along with bills that would allow public funds to be used on private schools.
Fields will have to wait 21 days due to a state-mandated waiting period before he can officially step into the role. He will take office before trustees elected in the May election take their seats.
In the meantime, he is focused on continuing his focus on better student outcomes as the interim superintendent.
Fields said his vision is to make Judson ISD a destination district for parents in the region, pointing to the dozens of students that were recognized for placing in competitions and receiving other awards at the beginning of the meeting.
Once he takes the position, Fields said he hopes to build trust with the community after the abrupt departure of Ball.
“Really just bringing everybody together, trying to cultivate that team,” he said. “To cultivate an atmosphere of togetherness, respect, not just with the faculty, but with the students, with the community, with everybody.”
That process will be ongoing.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily a destination that we’ll ever reach and feel comfortable,” he said. “I think it’s just something we’ll continue to do day after day.”
