New Superintendent Ena Meyers said Thursday that Lake Worth ISD students’ futures look brighter than ever after Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath appointed her and a board of managers to improve academic achievement.
“I am committing to the community to be able to focus on what really matters, which is students and teaching and learning,” Meyers said. “Our best days are ahead.”
Meyers and the five managers are now in charge of the 3,200-student district that has faced years of low academic performance, including five consecutive failing ratings at Marilyn Miller Language Academy that triggered the takeover. The move shifts decision-making authority away from locally elected trustees and toward a state-directed effort focused on raising student outcomes.
The five-member board of managers selected by Morath are:
- Tom Harris, Hillwood executive vice president and chair of the Fort Worth Mayor’s Council on Education & Workforce Development
- Amy Morgan, longtime public school educator and former district administrator
- Kenneth “Ken” Nichols, retired U.S. Navy officer and adjunct professor
- Mason Sneed, private equity professional with experience in finance and engineering
- Judy Starnes, retired Lake Worth ISD educator and longtime community member
Those managers will oversee the district’s operations, set policy and evaluate the superintendent while elected trustees remain in office without governing power.
For Harris, who will serve as board president, the priority is clear.
“Student outcomes,” Harris said. “One, two and three are student outcomes.”
Meyers’ message to families is simple, she said: The work ahead will center on improving student outcomes, particularly in literacy and math, while building stronger connections between schools and the community.
“I am here to partner with you in the education of our students and our community to improve student outcomes,” Meyers said.
Meyers, who most recently served as deputy chief of strategic initiatives at Houston ISD, said her immediate focus will be on getting in classrooms, understanding what is already in place and ensuring teachers have clear expectations and support.
Her leadership in Lake Worth will be shaped by her experience in Houston but not defined by it, she said. Meyers previously worked under Superintendent Mike Miles at Houston ISD and served as a principal in Dallas ISD during his tenure there, and later with Third Future Schools, the charter network he founded.
“I’m a different leader than Superintendent Miles,” Meyers said. “What I’m hoping is that the same outcomes he’s been able to achieve, we have the same outcomes here in Lake Worth.”
The new board will first meet April 29. Trustees are expected to be sworn in, elect board officers, consider the acting superintendent’s agreement and take initial steps to align district policies under state oversight.
The board’s role will be to support Meyers while setting clear goals, tracking progress and holding the district accountable for results, Harris said.
His interest in serving stems from a broader concern about how well students in Tarrant County are being prepared for life after high school.
“Students are our future workforce, and we don’t talk enough about that,” he said. “Every student should have the same kind of opportunity.”
Harris acknowledged that the board enters a community where trust must be earned — particularly after the state replaced locally elected leadership.
“You don’t earn people’s trust overnight,” Harris said. “The only way we’re going to earn people’s trust is to be able to exhibit the work that’s being done has had positive results.”
Morath installed a board of managers and new superintendent because Lake Worth needed a “complete leadership reset.”
The decision came after months of escalating pressure.
In September, district leaders adopted goals to raise reading and math performance and improve attendance, aiming to bring every campus to at least a B rating by 2028.
In October, Morath visited Lake Worth schools and said state intervention was ultimately required, though he had not yet determined what form it would take.
By December, he announced the takeover, saying the district had struggled for years to improve student outcomes.
Former Superintendent Mark Ramirez, hired in May 2025, had drawn strong support from teachers, parents and trustees who said his focus on instruction and accountability was beginning to show early results.
But state officials determined broader changes were needed, and Ramirez was later told he would not be a candidate to remain superintendent. He resigned in March.
Since then, the district has operated under interim leadership while awaiting the state’s appointments.
Among elected trustees, reactions to the new leadership ranged from cautious optimism to concern about the transition.
Elected board President Tammy Thomas said she takes comfort in the appointment of Starnes, a longtime Lake Worth educator.
“You would be hard pressed to find a better woman in Lake Worth than Judy Starnes,” Thomas said. “That gives me comfort and confidence both.”
The district’s new leaders should continue building on the foundation set in recent months and keep students at the center of every decision, she said.
“Make children a first priority in this school district,” she said. “Put adult problems aside.”
At the same time, she said the transition reinforces her belief that the district needed a reset in governance.
“I’m in no hurry for them to turn it back over to the school board,” Thomas said, adding that past decisions were not always made in the best interest of students.
Trustee Mary Wilson Coker said she also felt reassured by the backgrounds of several appointees, particularly those with experience in education, like Starnes and Morgan.
“I believe they will have the best interests of our students at heart,” she said.
Still, she said the transition brings uncertainty — especially as staff turnover increases and the district adjusts to new leadership.
“We’re having to restart the progress we made,” Coker said.
The takeover also comes amid longstanding challenges with community engagement.
Only 19 people applied to serve on Lake Worth’s board of managers compared with the hundreds in neighboring Fort Worth ISD. Data from the Texas Education Agency showed four applicants lived within district boundaries.
Rebuilding trust will take time and consistent results, Meyers and Harris said.
“When students enjoy being in school and you have an entire community who’s focused on student learning, kids are then going home and telling their families about the great day they had at school. You’ll see natural engagement increase,” Meyers said.
Managers and the superintendent will work toward specific benchmarks before local control can be restored, including eliminating all failing campuses, improving reading and math outcomes and meeting state governance standards.
For Meyers, that work starts immediately.
“We want and need excellent teachers,” she said. “Our kids deserve that.”
Disclosure: Hillwood is a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. News decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
