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The Judson ISD board of trustees appointed a new interim superintendent during a Feb. 16 special meeting.
This is the district's second interim superintendent appointed by the board over the past month.
What happened
In a 5-1 vote, the board appointed Robert Jaklich following a closed-session meeting. Trustee Suzanne Kenoyer was absent, and José Macias Jr. was the lone dissenting vote.
How we got here
The board placed Superintendent Milton "Rob" Fields III on paid administrative leave pending an investigation of reported concerns and appointed Lacey Gosch, the district’s assistant superintendent of support services, as acting superintendent during a special board meeting in January, as previously reported by Community Impact.
On Feb. 4, trustees voted to propose terminating Fields' employment contract and have him remain on administrative leave with pay. During the Feb. 4 meeting, the board appointed Mary Duhart-Toppen to serve as interim superintendent, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.
What they're saying
Jaklich said he has been in education for 40 years, starting as a teacher and coach, working his way up to principal and superintendent positions. He also said he has worked at the Education Service Center, Region 20.
ESC Region 20 is one of 20 non-regulatory regional education service agencies within Texas that assist school districts in improving student performance and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of school operations, according to its website.
"I realize the importance of the focus on every child, every classroom, every day. I also understand coming into Judson, we have some challenges that we have to deal with, and they're very big challenges, but they're not challenges that we can't overcome. What we have to do is we have to make sure we keep those issues in front of us instead of between us," Jaklich told Community Impact.
