Fort Worth ISD voters appeared to be sticking with who they know on the school board after a year that saw the mayor call on trustees to step up and the appointment of a new superintendent.
Incumbents Roxanne Martinez, Michael Ryan and Camille Rodriguez were each on their way to an additional four-year term on the nine-member school board, according to unofficial election returns at 10:29 p.m. May 3.
Rodriguez faced a tight race against educator Amanda Inay for the District 1 seat, representing northwest areas of Fort Worth ISD. The trustee’s lead was 137 votes. Rodriguez secured 53.5% of the vote to Inay’s 46.5%.
Rodriguez, a podiatrist, will likely see her second full term on the board after serving as trustee from 2004 to 2008 and returning to fill an unexpired term in 2022.
The clash between Inay and Rodriguez was the most hotly contested Fort Worth ISD school board race this cycle. Nearly $60,000 in contributions — most of which went to Inay — have flowed through the race.
The biggest donor? The For the Children political action committee, which contributed $35,000 to Inay. The PAC previously donated $500 to Rodriguez in 2023, according to a January 2024 campaign finance report.
Meanwhile, Martinez and Ryan steamrolled over their opponents.
Martinez won 74.2% of the vote in the race for the District 9 seat. Her opponent, Robyne Kelly, had 25.8%. District 9 stretches from the Diamond Hill neighborhood and Riverside south to downtown Fort Worth and past the Fairmount area.
Martinez, president of Roxstar Marketing, decided to seek another term because Fort Worth ISD is on the right track, with plenty of work ahead on balancing the budget, school closures and academic turnaround.
Ryan garnered 73.5% of the vote to challenger Terry Roach’s 26.5% in the race for the District 7 seat, representing the westernmost areas of Fort Worth ISD, including Benbrook.
Ryan, a retired educator and former Fort Worth ISD administrator, wants to complete what he sees as unfinished business, including turning around low academic performance and managing the district’s only population growth area. He wants to pursue the acquisition of land for a future high school-only campus in Benbrook.
The winners join incumbents Anael Luebanos and Wallace Bridges, who were unopposed, in serving four-year terms.
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.
