CONVERSE, Texas – A Judson Independent School District transportation supervisor has resigned, the department’s director and assistant director have filed retirement paperwork and its payroll clerk was moved out of her position amid a payroll discrepancy investigation, records obtained by KSAT Investigates show.
Main terminal supervisor Hewitt Ballard’s resignation was effective immediately, director Ken Johnson’s retirement was effective Jan. 31, assistant director Elizandro Munoz’s resignation is effective March 31 and transportation payroll clerk Melissa White was moved to a position within the district’s educational resource center.
The upheaval followed an investigation into Ballard playing a round of golf last fall while clocked into work, Judson ISD sources and Ballard confirmed to KSAT.
Judson ISD administration also investigated a claim that Ballard was keeping fundraiser money from cookouts and bake sales in his office on district property.
Ballard and Johnson both told KSAT Investigates the money was used to offset the cost of end-of-the-year transportation employee appreciation banquets that they hosted annually.
“We wanted to do something valuable for our drivers and assistants,” said Johnson, who agreed to be interviewed after he was contacted by KSAT last month.
During his eight-and-a-half years leading the department, Johnson said he was never made aware of any district policy prohibiting money from being kept on district property.
He added that the funds were stored in a locked box in a locked drawer in Ballard’s desk.
“They’re having audits after audits after audits. And I think because this was a money issue that they did not want that to be another thing that they have another audit and all that and they just wanted this to go away,” said Johnson, who characterized Judson ISD administration’s response as an overreaction.
A district spokeswoman confirmed the departures of the transportation employees but declined to be interviewed on camera for this story, telling KSAT in an email: “We will not comment further on personnel issues that were subject of internal investigations.”
The district has asked the State Attorney General to block the release of records from the investigation, claiming they were confidential.
Daniel Brooks, Judson ISD’s assistant superintendent of operations, informed transportation staff of the shake-up during a meeting on Dec. 10, 2024, and stated Munoz would be in charge of transportation until further notice, according to an audio recording of the meeting obtained by KSAT.
Personnel records, however, show Munoz had already submitted paperwork to the district to leave the position on March 31.
“The rumors and all this other stuff that’s been happening, that I’ve been hearing — and I don’t know if it’s true or not — but I’ve heard a bunch of it. And if it is true, it’s going to stop,“ Brooks said during the meeting. ”And if it doesn’t, then people are going to have to find somewhere else to work. Simple as that."
Ballard said he had permission to attend golf event, count it as a day of work
When reached for comment, Ballard agreed to answer questions from KSAT via telephone but declined to be interviewed on camera.
Ballard told KSAT he had written permission to attend a golf outing last fall at the Randolph Oaks Golf Course and count it as a work day since he was helping organize the event while still taking calls from work.
The golf tournament was hosted by the Central Texas Association for Pupil Transportation as part of its conference in Live Oak, according to Johnson and Ballard.
“He was still monitoring his department. They were calling him, doing all of those things,” Johnson said.
Johnson said issues arose because Ballard is hourly and remained on the clock while playing golf.
Johnson told KSAT that after he learned that Ballard played a round of golf, he informed Ballard that his timecard would need to be corrected to reflect a leave day.
Johnson said he was then brought in by district administration in November and told he was being investigated for payroll discrepancies and the fundraising issue.
Johnson said he was later told he could file retirement paperwork instead of being terminated, which he proceeded to do on Dec. 4.
“It’s just so hard to understand to be treated like that when we did so much to make this a top-notch department,” Johnson said.
Ballard told KSAT he was placed on unpaid leave for several weeks before being given the option to resign in lieu of being terminated.
When reached for comment, White told KSAT she was not permitted by the district to do an interview.
Judson ISD first tried to demote White to a field trip clerk position, but after she filed a grievance, the district agreed to move her outside the transportation department to an ERC position one pay grade higher, a source told KSAT.
The move between departments came with the condition that White drop her grievance, according to the source.
Munoz did not respond to an email from KSAT seeking comment for this story.
Timing of transportation department upheaval questioned
The upheaval of leadership within Judson ISD transportation comes as the district is in the process of changing its boundaries and bus routes for the next school year.
One source told KSAT the timing of the shake-up could not be worse.
Johnson agreed.
“We have 110 years of experience in transportation that’s lost through this,” Johnson said. “You bring a new staff in; they’re not going to know our technology. They’re not going to know the school boundaries and the schools and all that kind of thing, and it’s going to be a struggle to start the school year.”
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.