The Angélica Ramsey-led era of Fort Worth ISD is over after the school board accepted her voluntary resignation.
Trustees’ 8-1 vote on Sept. 24 came almost to the day two years ago that trustees formally hired Ramsey, who entered the superintendency with high hopes of improving academic achievement and the district’s financial standing. She now leaves the district amid criticism of unchanged student outcomes, a $17.7 million deficit budget and teachers who say they feel overburdened by district mandates.
The sole dissenting vote was trustee Camille Rodriguez. The board members came out of a more than three-hour executive session and announced the resignation without comment.
Ramsey's resignation as superintendent is effective Oct. 1, according to a joint statement from the school board and the departing leader. However, she will remain a Fort Worth ISD employee until Aug. 30, 2025.
The school board plans to appoint an interim superintendent. The interim leader will remain in the position as trustees search for a new superintendent.
During a news conference, school board President Roxanne Martinez thanked Ramsey for her service and said trustees will move forward with a focus on improving student achievement.
Martinez explained her vote to accept Ramsey's resignation.
"Hearing the community's concerns was a large part of why I supported the decision. I also think we mutually made a decision to move on in the best interest of children," Martinez said. "That's what my focus is going to be as president — moving forward and improving student achievement just like our community and our parents wish to see."
In a four-page statement, Ramsey listed what she saw as her achievements as Fort Worth ISD’s superintendent for the past two years, such as improvements seen in the district's self-assigned A-F ratings.
"I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the Fort Worth ISD board for allowing me the honor of serving this district over the past two years. It has been a privilege, and I have approached this responsibility with the utmost seriousness and dedication," Ramsey said.
The pressure put on Ramsey and her leadership had intensified in recent weeks after more than 40 community leaders called for a district turnaround plan. On Aug. 27, in a letter and a speech to the school board, Mayor Mattie Parker voiced dissatisfaction with the lackluster and stagnant state of the district.
Those critical of Ramsey’s tenure also noted empty promises when it came to improving literacy rates for Black and Hispanic students. Trustee Wallace Bridges voiced his concerns over the district’s lack of progress in improving reading rates for Black students during school board meetings. For two years, the district has not had a plan for these students, he said.
“The feedback that I get from parents is that their biggest concern is that we are not doing what we need to do when it comes to African American students,” Bridges said during an early September school board workshop meeting.
https://poll.fm/14409529 Since Parker’s wake-up call, district teachers and parents voiced their ramped-up concerns over Ramsey’s leadership during two September meetings. During one of the meetings, trustees discussed the superintendent’s contract behind closed doors. No action was taken.
In recent months, the school board and Ramsey navigated growing tensions surrounding her tenure and future with the district. Ramsey told trustees in early 2024 that they breached her contract as a result of a disagreement over her goals, which form the basis of her evaluation.
Another point of contention? Ramsey’s proposed strategic plan. Trustees voted down the proposal in July, citing board member absences and concern over a lack of community engagement. The plan has not resurfaced for school board approval.
During a Jan. 23 board meeting, Ramsey received a modification to her contract in which she received no raise in pay, according to the board’s lawyer Benjamin Castillo. Instead, trustees agreed to deposit some of Ramsey’s benefits into a retirement account as opposed to a cash payoff.
In July, trustees gave Ramsey a retirement bonus of $15,000, the lowest contractually obligated amount, and did not extend her contract. Ramsey’s salary was $335,000, and her contract was scheduled to end July 26, 2026.
Ramsey’s goals were not public before her July evaluation. School boards should approve goals in a public vote, so a district and superintendent have a record of expectations, an educational leadership professor at the University of Texas at Austin previously told the Fort Worth Report.
Ramsey’s evaluation was not based on State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, results, which did not see any movement in spring 2024. The district has struggled to bounce back to its pre-pandemic levels of academic achievement.
Ramsey has said STAAR results do not fully reflect academic performance and shifted her focus to an exam from the Northwest Evaluation Association called Measures of Academic Progress, or MAP. The test tracks academic growth throughout a school year; students take the exam at the beginning, middle and end of the school year.
Experts previously told the Report that growth on the MAP exams is an expectation. The exam is best used so teachers can make changes to classroom instruction on a student-by-student or classwide basis.
When Ramsey was hired in September 2022, she outlined her three priorities: Accelerate learning for students; work through the district’s 2017 and 2021 bonds; and improve district finances.
Some progress has been made on the 2021 bond program. So far, the biggest project completed is Rolling Hills Elementary, a new campus for the Benbrook area of the district.
Fort Worth ISD trustees adopted a 2024-25 school year budget with a $17.7 million deficit. School board member Kevin Lynch criticized the budget process for not including the compensation package after administrators presented a balanced budget.
“Our financial stewardship has also been a point of pride, as we presented a balanced budget for the 2024-25 school year for the first time in at least seven years,” Ramsey wrote in Fort Worth ISD’s 2024 impact report.
Before the school board reconvened in open session Sept. 24, Ramsey walked out of the conference room where trustees discussed her future. She chatted with Deputy Superintendents Karen Molinar and Kellie Spencer. She then talked to Deputy Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury and Chief of Communications Toni Cordova before heading back behind closed doors.
After a few minutes, she returned to her seat and waited for trustees to approve her resignation.
Jacob Sanchez is a senior education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez.
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @MatthewSgroi1.
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.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
