It took only 10 months for Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Angélica Ramsey to convince the school board she should stay.
The school board approved a three-year contract extension for the superintendent, without a raise, at its July 25 meeting. The vote was almost unanimous, with Kevin Lynch abstaining.
Lynch declined to comment about why he abstained.
Ramsey’s pay will remain $335,000 a year for now. School board members will evaluate her again later in the school year, and her salary could change then.
The superintendent’s original contract had a start date of Sept. 21, 2022, and an end date of Aug. 31, 2025. Trustees have to evaluate the superintendent before the one-year mark, and school board president Dr. Camille Rodriguez said trustees decided months ago to conduct Ramsey’s evaluation at their July meeting.
The updated contract goes into effect immediately and extends to 2026.
“I’m thankful for the board’s confidence to continue the work we’ve started and our collective commitment to increase student performance, provide a positive school climate and work in partnership with our community in service of children,” Ramsey said in a written statement.
Rodriguez said the board has confidence in Ramsey after her first months. Trustees are excited for Ramsey’s new hires and the new organizational chart she’s implementing, Rodriguez said.
Ramsey is reorganizing district leadership to save Fort Worth ISD $3 million to offset declining enrollment and a deficit.
Trustees think Ramsey’s early work will help improve academic achievement in the district, which is the board’s top priority, Rodriguez said.
“We had to regain the trust of the community,” Rodriguez said. “And she is very focused and open about doing that and doing everything she can to make that happen.”
In her first 90 days, Ramsey hosted several listening sessions with the community. Rodriguez said the board appreciates how she listened to what people said and created a data-driven analysis for areas of improvement.
Using data to make decisions shows Ramsey isn’t implementing policies on a whim, Rodriguez said.
“She’s very open, and we discussed this last night, how transparent she is, and the board is aware of everything that’s going on in the district,” Rodriguez said. “We just wanted to show her we’re confident in her and we are excited about the way this district is heading.”
The board thinks the district is on a positive trajectory, Rodriguez said. Board members’ goal remains to give all students the best education possible.
“We know we’ve had some issues in the past, and we have acknowledged them and we’re ready to move forward,” Rodriguez said. “I’m sure there’ll be some issues in the future, there always is with a district this size, but we’re not going to hide and we’re going to take ownership and everything we do.”
Kristen Barton is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at kristen.barton@fortworthreport.org.
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This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
