Karen Molinar, the former Fort Worth ISD superintendent, will receive at least $412,700 as part of her resignation agreement.
Last year, the Texas Education Agency took over the district, after a campus earned a failing grade for five consecutive years. Though Molinar pushed to preserve her job, the state hired a new superintendent and replaced locally elected trustees with appointed managers.
As part of her exit, Molinar received a year’s worth of base salary — $360,000 — and benefits, according to the June 23 agreement. The district will also compensate her for 20 vacation and 15 personal leave days, adding at least $52,700.
To ease the leadership transition, she will continue to serve in an advisory role with no administrative duties. Her successor, Peter Licata, previously served as superintendent of Broward County Public Schools in Florida. He earns a base salary of $360,000 as head of Fort Worth ISD, according to his contract.
Molinar’s resignation goes into effect at the end of July. Her term was originally set to end in June 2028.
Molinar spent nearly three decades in the district, starting as a teacher at Washington Heights Elementary. She also served as an assistant principal and principal before stepping into district leadership. During her tenure as superintendent, she sought to turnaround a struggling district, raising reading and math scores and improving campus accountability ratings.
Earlier this month, Molinar was tapped to be CEO of Rev Partnership, an education nonprofit in Tarrant County. In her new role, she will oversee its organizational strategy, partnerships, community engagement efforts and more.
Rev Partnership did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“I have spent my career focused on creating opportunities for students to thrive,” Molinar said in a Rev Partnership news release. “I believe deeply in the power of partnership to drive meaningful change.”
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