What to Know
- Mike Morath, the commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, says he will appoint a board of managers to replace the Fort Worth ISD school board after several consecutive years of accountability concerns. Morath said the board has “failed the students.”
- Morath will appoint a conservator to the district at a future date. “The conservator will have all authority permitted under Texas law and will ensure the district supports its low-performing campuses and implements the district’s turnaround plans.”
- The superintendent could also be replaced. Morath said the current superintendent, Karen Molinar, is on the list of prospective candidates.
- The Fort Worth ISD said they were “disappointed by the decision and hopes the matter will be reconsidered.”
- Nothing changes with the way the district is run today. The transition to a board of managers and a conservator will take several months and will likely occur in the spring.
- Schools remain open and are on a normal schedule.
Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath says he’s ordering the appointment of a conservator and a board of managers to govern the Fort Worth ISD after the school board “failed the students” and didn’t implement changes that improved their performance for several consecutive years.
When a school in a district fails to meet accountability standards for five consecutive years, the TEA is required by state law to intervene in what is commonly called a “state takeover,” where the commissioner must either close the failing school or replace the district’s elected school board with a state-appointed board of managers.
The latter is happening now with the Fort Worth Independent School District. Earlier this year, the Leadership Academy at Forest Oaks 6th-grade campus, formerly known as Glencrest 6th School, earned its fifth consecutive unacceptable accountability rating for the 2022-23 school year. The district closed the campus after the 2022-23 school year, but in his letter, Morath said the district’s closing the campus did not relieve the TEA of its obligation under state law to intervene and “did not address the district’s underlying systemic deficiencies that caused the chronic underperformance.”
In an interview with NBC 5 on Thursday morning, Morath said the academic problems in Fort Worth extend beyond one troubled campus. The commissioner said that districtwide, only 34% of students in the Fort Worth ISD are meeting grade-level requirements, which is 16 percentage points below the state average.
“Ultimately, these changes are necessitated because of chronic academic problems in Fort Worth. Even with some marginal improvement in the most recent year, we actually saw an increase in the number of chronically academically unacceptable campuses,” Morath told NBC 5. “Twenty campuses in the Fort Worth ISD have been D or F rated for multiple years and this is just not acceptable for our children. To put it in perspective, at an F campus, less than one-third of kids are on grade level and less than half are making a year’s worth of progress in a year.”
The Fort Worth ISD said Thursday morning it respected Morath’s commitment to student success and accountability but was “disappointed by the decision and hopes the matter will be reconsidered.” The board said it believes local, elected leadership is best positioned to sustain the district’s progress and continue improving outcomes for every student.
“Over the past year, our board and administration have worked tirelessly to strengthen instruction and accelerate student outcomes,” said Roxanne Martinez, school board president. “Our elected board is in the best position to drive the sustainable improvements the commissioner seeks, with measurable progress already underway. We respectfully ask him to reconsider his decision as we continue partnering with families, educators, and state leaders to keep this momentum going for every Fort Worth ISD student.”
Morath did not say when he would announce the board managers and the conservator, only that they would be named at a later date. The board of managers will consist of Fort Worth community members “who are committed to governing effectively to support positive change for the students of the district.” Morath said the search for board candidates is underway, and anyone interested in serving on the board of managers could apply on the TEA’s website. Until the TEA transitions the school district to the board of managers and a conservator, a move that will take several months and likely occur in the spring, the current superintendent and school board remain in charge.
The TEA said the district will have an opportunity to participate in an informal review of the board of managers’ and conservator’s appointments on Oct. 30. At that time, the district can present information or supporting documentation for consideration in the decisions of the board of managers and conservator.
“We will be meeting with the board for sort of an informal review and reflections where they can share with me their action plans, what they have done, what they plan to do, as one additional data point in this process,” Morath told NBC 5. “Sometimes we have actually made adjustments based upon what we learn during that process, sometimes we haven’t. But it’s important to have that as part of the process just to be very deliberative. We want to make sure that we’re making the best decision possible for the 70,000-plus souls of the Fort Worth ISD.”
After the informal review, if the TEA moves forward with assigning a conservator and board of managers, the district can file a petition for review with the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
It is unclear whether Morath will also replace Superintendent Karen Molinar, who is new to the position and widely supported within the district. In previous takeovers, Morath has replaced both school boards and superintendents simultaneously. In a letter to the district on Thursday, Morath said he would review prospective superintendent candidates and that Molinar would be among the candidates.
“Dr. Molinar is the current superintendent of Fort Worth and has only been there for only a short period of time and has made several really impressive steps with the district,” Morath told NBC 5. “She has, with certainty, earned an opportunity to interview for that role and will be considered as a candidate for that role before we make any final decision.”
The current school board could return to their elected positions if the state ends its intervention while they are still in office. Trustee elections will continue on schedule, so newly elected trustees may not have decision-making authority if elected during the appointment period. Returning to trustee control can take two years, with one-third of the appointed board of managers replaced by elected trustees every 12 months.
To keep families, staff, and the broader community informed and involved throughout this process, TEA will host two public meetings on Thursday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 13, at 6 p.m. The locations for the public meetings will be announced at a later date.
The letter from the commissioner to the superintendent and school board was released Thursday morning and can be read below.
TEA letter to the Fort Worth ISD
‘The buck stops with the local school board’
TEA Commissioner Mike Morath has been publicly critical of Fort Worth ISD’s performance in recent months. In August, while praising Dallas ISD’s academic growth, he referenced Fort Worth directly.
“Unfortunately, in cases where a school board has failed to be able to do that, like in Fort Worth, the question is how do we turn those around as rapidly as possible,” he said.
Earlier this week, just two days before the expected announcement, Morath again addressed Fort Worth and neighboring Lake Worth ISD, both of which faced accountability challenges.
“Ultimately, the buck still stops with the local school board, and the school board is not brand spanking new,” Morath said. “The question is where was the urgency four years ago, five years ago, six years ago, to say, ‘It is our responsibility, we have been elected, we are held in trust by the taxpayers to provide for kids.’”
Fort Worth ISD leaders leave conference early after learning of TEA’s action
District officials appeared to be caught off guard by Thursday’s planned announcement. A Fort Worth ISD spokeswoman said the district was unaware Morath had scheduled a briefing with reporters. Several board members, Molinar and cabinet officials were in Philadelphia attending a conference where they were scheduled to present on Thursday.
Sources told NBC 5 that district officials quickly boarded a flight back to Texas late Wednesday after learning of Morath’s expected announcement.
Community members hope to keep local control of Fort Worth ISD
The news is deeply disappointing for parents and community members fighting to keep local control.
Marisol Herrera, a member of Families Organized and Resisting Takeover (FORT), said their advocacy will continue.
“This is the beginning of the resistance, the fight. We’re going to keep advocating for our students, advocating for public schools,” Herrera said. “We believe it’s best to have local control. However it goes tomorrow, we’ll keep advocating for that.”
The Texas Education Commissioner will announce a state takeover of Fort Worth ISD Thursday morning after a campus failed to meet standards for five straight years. Reporter Wayne Carter has the latest details.