As a lifelong resident and a Fort Worth ISD teacher and counselor, Manuel Gaona’s seen the city’s schools change — but in his view, not enough.
On Thursday night, he stood before Texas Education Agency officials inside Polytechnic High School, where he works, and challenged them to look beyond lagging test scores. What does the state plan to do differently, he asked them.
“They’re taking over by law,” Gaona said. “I’m not trying to fight it anymore. But how do we support the kids who struggle day in and day out?”
His question hung in the school’s auditorium as more than 200 parents, teachers, residents and community members listened to TEA deputy commissioner Steve Lecholop outline what comes next for Fort Worth ISD under state control.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath will appoint a board of managers to temporarily replace the district’s elected trustees — a step required by law after one campus received five consecutive failing grades on the state’s academic accountability system, Lecholop explained.
“This is not about one campus,” he said. “These are systemic problems.”
He pointed to what he called a districtwide crisis in student outcomes: Only 38% of students reading on grade level, 29% proficient in math, and nearly a third of campuses rated D or F.
Throughout the hourlong meeting, Lecholop fielded questions about how Morath will select the managers replacing elected board members, whether what’s coming in Fort Worth will resemble Houston ISD’s ongoing takeover and how long the process could last.
The new board will have the same powers as trustees and must follow open meeting and public information laws, Lecholop said. Conservator Christopher Ruszkowski, who was appointed hours before the meeting, will monitor the district until the managers are seated. Ruszkowski previously served as education secretary for New Mexico and is currently a conservator for IDEA Public Schools, the largest charter network in the state.
Asked if Fort Worth schools would adopt scripted lesson plans or restructure libraries as Houston ISD did, Lecholop continued to stress that TEA won’t be making operational decisions.
“Fort Worth is going to be independently operated,” he said. “There’s no expectation that FWISD is going to look like HISD.”
The now closed Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Sixth Grade triggered the Texas law requiring state intervention after the school failed ratings that are largely based on how well students do on STAAR tests.
Applications are open for nine board seats, with interviews expected in December and January. More than 100 applications had been completed as of last week, he added.
Before the meeting, Zach Leonard, who leads Families Organized and Resisting Takeover, or FORT, said he expected few new answers.
“Every question will be deflected (with): ‘It’s all at the discretion of the superintendent,’” he said.
Parent Virginia Collins, a member of Parent Shield Fort Worth, said she accepts that the state takeover will happen but wants safeguards to ensure community voice.
“Let the commissioner appoint, but let the people remove,” she said. “We need some type of power.”
Brandon Hall, who represents nearly half of Fort Worth ISD on the State Board of Education, asked how TEA officials will ensure families continue to have a voice under state control.
Lecholop said the agency plans to hold additional meetings, respond to public comments online, and encourage residents to apply to serve as a state-appointed manager. He added that trustees will continue meeting and governing the district until the legal appeal process concludes.
Still, Morath alone will decide appointments and replacements, Lecholop said. Local board elections will continue so candidates are ready when control returns, which won’t happen for at least two years.
Gaona’s plea for struggling students brought the meeting back to the children at the center of the takeover.
The agency’s focus is on ensuring every student, regardless of circumstance, can succeed, Lecholop said.
“If students come to school hungry, we aspire to feed them,” he said. “If they come with other needs, we aspire to address those needs while also providing the excellent education that allows them to achieve the American dream.”
The meeting ended promptly at 7:30 p.m. with several attendees still lined up to ask questions as the session concluded.
Lecholop reminded residents of another community session next Thursday at the Fort Worth ISD District Service Center.
Clusters of parents and teachers stayed behind, talking in the aisles and under the glow of the high school’s front lights — still unsure what state control will mean for their community, Fort Worth’s schools and the 67,500 students the district serves.
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1.
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