The Judson ISD board will vote next month on a recommendation to close Coronado Village Elementary School and end Wortham Oaks' Spanish Immersion program.
Confronting shrinking enrollment and a projected $25 million budget shortfall, the Judson Independent School District is considering a plan that could result in Bexar County ’s 26th school closure since 2023.
Trustees are slated to vote next month on a series of proposals that include closing Coronado Village Elementary School and redrawing attendance lines to increase the efficiency of district facilities. The recommendation came from the district’s growth and planning committee, a task force of community members who began meeting in September to brainstorm solutions to even out student enrollment at Judson’s campuses. “This is not an easy task, and we are not going to please everyone,” trustee Stephanie Faulkner said at a board meeting Thursday. “We have to set our personal thoughts and experiences aside and look at academics and expenditures, and we have to think about not just the immediate timeline but the future.” It’s a familiar discussion for local school officials and families. Four other San Antonio school districts have consolidated campuses in the last two years to cope with fewer students and reduced funding. Unlike those school systems, however, Judson is discussing shuttering a school while construction crews work to erect two new campuses. District trustees have contested the need for the new elementary and middle schools, funded by a $345 million bond package approved by voters in 2022. While 15 of Judson’s 29 campuses currently operate more than 20% below capacity, six are overcrowded due to new residential development in the district's northern end. The proposed plan is to move the students and staff at Coronado Village to Selma Elementary School, a 60,000-square-foot campus that broke ground in May. District officials insisted Coronado Village staff members would retain their jobs. They did not discuss how the neighborhood school would be repurposed. Rumors that the district had already decided to close Coronado Village resulted in a full house at the first growth and planning meeting in September. Scores of community members showed up assuming the school would absorb the Judson CARE Academy, an alternative education program that serves some 120 students out of an office building near the former Converse Elementary School. A dual-language campus that opened in 1971, Coronado Village is currently 41% under capacity with 469 students, according to district and state data. READ MORE: 'Shut up!': Judson ISD trustees clash during board meeting While Coronado Village is the only campus on the chopping block, the plan also involves redrawn attendance maps and changes to academic programming. The attendance zone for Rolling Meadows Elementary School would split at Kentucky Street, and JSTEM Academy, a STEM-based educational program with over 400 students, would relocate from Judson Middle School to Kitty Hawk Middle School. During the public comment portion of Thursday's meeting, two community members expressed strong opposition to a part of the plan calling for the end of Wortham Oak Elementary School’s Spanish Immersion Program, a pipeline for English-speaking students to become fluent in Spanish. “I’ve always considered Spanish immersion as more of an advanced academics program in an elementary setting where AP and honors courses are not available,” said Samantha Wohler, parent to a third grader in the program. “This program offers an academic enrichment that not only teaches our students a second language, a vital skill in today’s society, but an advanced pacing and curriculum that allows additional exposure to new concepts and enrichment activities.” During a board workshop last week, trustees and administrators discussed phasing out Spanish immersion over the next three years. District officials said it was not viable to continue pouring money — including $400,000 for salaries — into a program with only 80 students. “I wouldn’t recommend we sustain a program like that,” said Superintendent Milton Fields. Fields and his cabinet noted the importance of making a decision in December so any changes could be implemented in the fall of next year. The board will discuss the recommendations at a board workshop on Dec. 11 and vote at a regular meeting on Dec. 19. If trustees approve the closure of Coronado Village, Judson ISD will join South San Antonio, Harlandale, San Antonio and Edgewood ISDs in taking the painful step of closing campus doors for good.
Selma Elementary School Converse Elementary School Judson CARE Academy Judson Middle School AP Rolling Meadows Elementary School Wortham Oak Elementary School South San Antonio JSTEM Academy Edgewood Isds Kitty Hawk Samantha Wohler Stephanie Faulkner Spanish Coronado Village Elementary School Bexar County San Antonio Fields Milton Fields Harlandale Kentucky Street STEM Spanish Immersion Program English Shut Up!
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