Fort Worth school trustees are appealing Texas’ takeover of the city’s largest district.
FWISD board members voted Tuesday evening to challenge Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath’s decision to take control of the 67,500-student district.
Board President Roxanne Martinez described the move as a way to have a deeper review of the facts surrounding the state intervening in FWISD. Trustees see a way for state and local leaders to work together for students, she said.
“Our goal is to work with the state,” Martinez said. “We want to support students. Our priority is on students and improving student outcomes.”
The vote was 7-1. Trustee Kevin Lynch was the sole dissenter. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Factual and legal considerations warrant a further review of Morath’s decision, Martinez said. She declined to go into specifics, but trustees will share more at a later time, she said.
FWISD’s appeal will go through a limited, fast-tracked legal process with the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
The court only decides whether the commissioner had enough evidence to justify the decision.
An administrative law judge must issue a final ruling within 30 days after hearing the challenge. That ruling cannot be appealed.
Morath took control of FWISD on Oct. 23 after the now-closed Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Sixth Grade posted five consecutive F grades under the state’s academic accountability ratings that are largely based on STAAR results.
In late October, trustees met with Morath at the Texas Education Agency’s headquarters in Austin.
FWISD trustees argued then that the state didn’t pause sanctions for a campus failing standards under provisions in Texas law that allowed for them, according to a letter from Morath. They also made the case that the district was heading in the right direction.
Texas law requires the commissioner to take over a district if a school fails the accountability ratings five consecutive years or to close that failing campus. FWISD officials had already closed the school that triggered the state law.
Last week, TEA Deputy Commissioner Steve Lecholop told Fort Worth residents the district faces widespread academic issues across the entire system based on students’ STAAR performance.
“Despite what many are saying, over time, the district has not actually improved outcomes for kids,” Lecholop said.
Morath appointed Christopher Ruszkowski as FWISD’s conservator. Ruszkowski, a former New Mexico secretary of education, will monitor district operations and ensure academic improvement while those appointments are finalized. A conservator will remain in place for the entirety of the state’s intervention.
Ruszkowski attended his first FWISD board meeting Tuesday.
Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez.
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