Superintendent Mark Ramirez will not remain the leader of Lake Worth ISD much longer as Texas takes control of the district<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ramirez informed district staff Thursday afternoon about his intention to transition from his role as superintendent, according to an email obtained by the Fort Worth Report. His decision came hours after Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath launched the second takeover of a Tarrant County school district this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cServing this vibrant community, which is so deeply dedicated to its students, has been one of the highest honors of my professional life,\u201d Ramirez wrote. \u201cWhile this chapter of my service is concluding, the story of student success in Lake Worth is just beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n Texas Education Agency spokesperson Jake Kobersky confirmed Ramirez will not be a superintendent candidate.<\/p>\n Lake Worth spokesperson Noah Ceballos did not respond to a request to comment.<\/p>\n Ramirez was hired in May to succeed a longtime superintendent<\/a> who led Lake Worth schools for seven years.<\/p>\n Morath attributed the intervention to academic and governance issues that lingered unaddressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n The takeover was triggered by Marilyn Miller Language Academy failing to meet state academic standards for five straight years<\/a>. At that point, the commissioner is required to either close the campus or replace district leadership.<\/p>\n The commissioner praised Ramirez as a skilled leader who made changes to Lake Worth ISD<\/a> during his six-month tenure. The superintendent rolled out initiatives<\/a> on research-based instruction, using data to help students and brought consistency across the district.<\/p>\n However, trustees should have moved quicker to find new leadership, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they had taken steps to bring Dr. Ramirez in five years ago, I highly doubt we\u2019d be having this conversation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Ramirez\u2019s bowing out of the superintendent search contrasts with the state intervention in neighboring Fort Worth ISD. Morath has repeatedly stressed Superintendent Karen Molinar is a candidate in a nationwide search to lead the 67,500-student district as many community leaders, including the mayor, express support<\/a> for Molinar, who\u2019s spent nearly 30 years in FWISD<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the spring, Morath will appoint Lake Worth\u2019s board of managers who will replace seven locally elected trustees as well as a new superintendent. Until then, Ramirez will keep his attention on the most important part of his job: the students.<\/p>\n \u201cThe work is far from over. This momentum is too strong to slow down,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cOur focus must remain, unwavering and absolute, on the 3,200 students who walk through our doors every day expecting \u2014 and deserving \u2014 our best.\u201d<\/p>\n Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org<\/a> or @_jacob_sanchez<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n This <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2025\/12\/12\/lake-worth-isd-chief-wont-remain-superintendent-after-texas-takeover-of-districts-schools\/”>article<\/a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report<\/a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<img src=”https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&quality=80&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”><\/p>\n <img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/?republication-pixel=true&post=326036&ga4=2820184429″ style=”width:1px;height:1px;”><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2025\/12\/12\/lake-worth-isd-chief-wont-remain-superintendent-after-texas-takeover-of-districts-schools\/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } <\/script> <script id=”parsely-cfg” src=”\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/fortworthreport.org\/p.js”><\/script>