Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath is expected to announce a state takeover of Fort Worth ISD on Thursday, a move required under state law after one campus failed to meet academic standards for five consecutive years.
Morath is scheduled to meet privately with reporters at 9 a.m. to discuss the district’s future. Under House Bill 1842, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2015, if a single school fails to meet accountability standards for five straight years, the commissioner must either close that school or replace the district’s elected board with a state-appointed board of managers.
That process, commonly referred to as a “state takeover,” appears to be the direction Fort Worth ISD is heading, according to multiple sources familiar with the decision. The Texas Education Agency has not confirmed the plan.
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 boards and superintendents simultaneously.
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 facing 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.’”
District leaders 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 tell NBC 5 that district officials quickly boarded a flight back to Texas late Wednesday after learning of Morath’s expected announcement.
An official letter from the commissioner is expected to be released Thursday morning following the news conference.
For parents and community members fighting to keep local control, the news is deeply disappointing. 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.”
If Morath confirms a state takeover, Fort Worth ISD’s elected board will be replaced by state-appointed members. The current board could return if the state ends its intervention while those members are still in office.