Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Karen Molinar made clear Tuesday that students can’t afford to wait for the state to decide the district’s fate, even as Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath plans to visit Thursday.
During an Aug. 26 board meeting, she offered trustees a glimpse of new academic strategies for struggling campuses, while trustees took another step toward the future by adopting a new, decreased tax rate for 2025-26.
Absent from the meeting was any direct mention of Morath or the possibility of a state takeover.
The potential intervention stems from the Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Sixth Grade, which was closed before accountability ratings confirmed its fifth consecutive failing academic accountability grade. Under state law, the campus’s closure does not erase the record.
Once a school receives five F ratings in a row, the education commissioner must act. With the campus already shuttered, Texas law leaves Morath one option: replace the elected trustees by appointing a board of managers to oversee the district.
That reality loomed in the background Tuesday night, though Molinar focused on what she described as continuous improvement for students and consistency across classrooms.
“We cannot continue doing the same thing,” she told trustees. “We have to be strategic. We have to be explicit. We have to be intentional, and we need to monitor every single student.”
The district’s overall rating rose from 70 to 73 in 2025, with 53 campuses improving by a full letter grade and about 10,000 fewer students enrolled in schools rated F. Still, 11 campuses remain at the bottom tier. Two failed for the fourth consecutive year.
Molinar pointed to new instructional tools as part of her response this school year.
Teachers will begin daily “Demonstrations of Learning” — three to five questions designed to measure whether students understood the day’s lesson. Principals and assistant principals will be expected to lead “learning labs” at peer campuses, sharing strategies and observing instruction.
Campuses will have extra teaching support with demo teachers — experienced educators who model lessons, co-teach and mentor staff — and an expanded online student monitoring system, Molinar said.
Trustees approve 2025-26 tax rate
Trustees adopted the next fiscal year’s tax rate of $1.0291 per $100 valuation, more than 3 cents less than last year’s.
The measure passed 7-2 with trustees Kevin Lynch and Michael Ryan opposing. Lynch said he sees a growing tax burden on families squeezed by rising property values.
The rate is split between maintenance and operations — which covers salaries, classroom supplies and other daily expenses — and interest and sinking, which repays debt from voter-approved bonds.
For now, FWISD leaders are tackling financial stewardship and academic needs for the 67,500-student district whose fate could be determined in Austin as much as in Fort Worth.
Regardless, Molinar said their work is aimed at lasting reforms, not temporary fixes.
“We have to start putting systems in place in our district,” she said. “Kids first every day — it’s simple.”
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1.
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