Fort Worth Schools: A State Takeover and the Fight for Better Education

The Fort Worth Independent School District is in hot water. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is stepping in to take control because one of its schools, Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Sixth Grade, has been failing for years. This isn't a sudden move, though. The district has been struggling to meet state standards for nearly two decades. The TEA's commissioner, Mike Morath, has decided to replace the elected school board with a state-appointed board of managers. These new leaders will have a lot of power. They'll manage a huge district with over 135 campuses and a budget of around $1 billion. Their job will be to decide how to spend that money and hire the people who will run the day-to-day operations. The district has seen some improvements lately. Test scores went up last year, and the number of failing campuses dropped. But it wasn't enough to stop the state from stepping in. The TEA can take over a district if a school gets an F rating for five years in a row. Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Sixth Grade did just that. The campus was in a neighborhood with a lot of Black and Hispanic families, many of whom were refugees or immigrants. It was one of the district's lowest-performing schools. The district's superintendent, Karen Molinar, admits that the district should have done more to help the students there. But the problems go beyond one school. In 2023, only 44% of Fort Worth ISD students were reading at grade level. And while test scores have improved, the district still has a long way to go. Some people think the district focused too much on its high-performing schools and not enough on the ones that were struggling. The state takeover isn't the only issue facing Fort Worth ISD. The district has a $44 million budget deficit. Many people believe that the Texas Legislature's decisions on education funding have made things worse. Schools across the state are operating at a deficit, leading to larger class sizes and fewer programs to help students. The TEA has been taking over more schools lately. Fort Worth is the second-largest district to be taken over, after Houston. Some people think the state's focus on standardized testing is part of the problem. The tests take up a lot of instructional time and put a lot of pressure on students. The future of Fort Worth ISD depends on who the state appoints to lead it. Some people are hopeful that the takeover could bring about positive changes. Others are worried about what it will mean for the district's students and teachers.