The Texas Education Agency is expected to announce a state takeover of the Fort Worth Independent School District on Thursday, a move that would replace the district's locally elected board of trustees with state-appointed managers. The intervention follows years of accountability struggles, culminating in one campus failing to meet state academic standards for five consecutive years.
Key Takeaways
- Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath is expected to announce a state takeover of Fort Worth ISD.
- The action is mandated by a 2015 state law, House Bill 1842, after a single school failed accountability standards for five straight years.
- The district's elected nine-member school board will likely be replaced by a state-appointed board of managers.
- Community groups have expressed disappointment and are organizing to resist the state intervention and advocate for local control.
State Law Mandates Intervention
The anticipated move by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is not a discretionary decision but a requirement under state law. House Bill 1842, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2015, established clear consequences for districts with chronically underperforming schools.
Under the law, if any single school within a district fails to meet state accountability ratings for five consecutive years, the Education Commissioner must act. The commissioner is presented with two options: close the failing campus or appoint a board of managers to govern the entire district.
Sources familiar with the matter indicate that Commissioner Mike Morath has chosen the latter path, opting for a full district takeover rather than a school closure. An official announcement is scheduled for Thursday morning, where Morath is expected to detail the plan and the timeline for the transition.
What is a State Takeover?
A state takeover temporarily suspends the authority of the locally elected school board. A new board of managers, selected and appointed by the Texas Education Commissioner, assumes all duties and responsibilities of governance. This includes overseeing the budget, setting policy, and hiring or firing the superintendent. The goal is to implement systemic changes to improve academic outcomes. The elected board members can potentially return to their roles if the state intervention ends while they are still within their elected terms.
A History of Scrutiny
The possibility of a state takeover did not emerge overnight. Commissioner Morath has publicly voiced concerns about Fort Worth ISD's performance for several months, often contrasting it with progress seen in neighboring districts.
In August, while commending Dallas ISD for its academic growth, Morath specifically mentioned Fort Worth as a district where the school board had not achieved similar success. His comments highlighted a perceived lack of progress in turning around struggling schools.
"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," Morath stated at the time.
Just this week, two days before the expected announcement, Morath reiterated his concerns about the leadership in both Fort Worth and nearby Lake Worth ISD. He emphasized that accountability ultimately rests with the elected officials.
"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.’”
District Leaders Blindsided by Announcement
The timing of the commissioner's planned press conference appeared to catch district leadership by surprise. Several Fort Worth ISD board members, along with the new Superintendent, Karen Molinar, were in Philadelphia to present at a national education conference.
A district spokesperson confirmed that they were not aware of the scheduled briefing with reporters. Upon learning of the impending announcement late Wednesday, district officials reportedly boarded the first available flight back to Texas to address the situation.
The future of Superintendent Karen Molinar remains uncertain. While the commissioner has replaced both the board and superintendent in past takeovers, Molinar is new to her role and has garnered significant support within the community and the district.
Community Vows to Fight for Local Control
For parents and community advocates who have been monitoring the district's accountability status, the news is a significant blow. A local group, Families Organized and Resisting Takeover (FORT), has been actively campaigning to maintain local governance.
Marisol Herrera, a member of FORT, said the group is not giving up despite the expected decision from the state.
"This is the beginning of the resistance, the fight. We're going to keep advocating for our students, advocating for public schools," Herrera stated. "We believe it's best to have local control. However it goes tomorrow, we'll keep advocating for that.”
The community's response underscores the tension between state-mandated accountability and the principle of local democratic control over public education. As the TEA prepares to step in, the focus will shift to the composition of the new board of managers and their strategy for improving student performance across the district.