Lake Worth school board president Tammy Thomas apologized Tuesday night, her voice cracking as she sniffled and took responsibility for the decisions that led to the district’s state takeover.
“The fault that the district is in lies in the hands of this board,” Thomas said. “We were slow, very slow, in appointing a new superintendent.”
Minutes later, trustees voted 4-0 not to appeal Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath’s decision to appoint a conservator and a board of managers for Lake Worth ISD, clearing the way for the state to assume control this spring. Trustees Armando Velasquez, Sonja Norman and Mac Belmontes were absent.
An appeal would be costly, tightly limited in scope and unlikely to change the outcome — including the removal of Superintendent Mark Ramirez, Thomas said.
Trustees traveled to Austin on Dec. 19 for an informal review with Morath and other Texas Education Agency officials to respond to public criticism questioning why the board had not acted sooner, Thomas said.
“We let him know that we were there to represent 3,177 students,” she said.
Thomas pointed to an August 2024 vote — taken weeks before the November school board election — in which trustees voted 6–1 to extend then-Superintendent Rose Mary Neshyba’s contract by one year. Thomas was the lone dissenting vote.
Trustees Velasquez, Norman and Belmontes — all absent from Tuesday’s meeting — voted in favor of the extension. Trustee Cristina Gallagher, who was present Tuesday evening, also voted to extend Neshyba’s contract. Neshyba announced her retirement in January 2025.
“Everyone’s paying the price of the decisions that this board made, and now the board is going to be held accountable,” Thomas said.
Neshyba did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under state rules, an appeal would focus on the appointment of a conservator and board of managers, require attorneys and amount to a delay rather than a reversal, Thomas said.
“It will require legal counsel, which will be a huge cost to the district,” she said. “We feel like that money could be better spent on our students.”
The decision contrasts with Fort Worth ISD, where trustees voted unanimously Nov. 18 to appeal the state’s takeover, citing the need for further legal review. A state office is expected to hear FWISD’s appeal this week.
Despite their non-appeal, trustees and administrators continued to shower praise on Ramirez, who was hired in May.
“In the 33 years that I served at Lake Worth ISD, I have never seen a superintendent that took charge of leadership,” trustee Cindy Burt said. “It has been an amazing adventure.”
She added, echoing Morath: “If we would have brought Dr. Ramirez on board even a year ago, this wouldn’t be happening.”
Ramirez thanked Thomas for publicly taking responsibility and said his focus remains on sustaining the instructional systems the district put in place this year.
“The board is taking ownership,” he said. “What’s done is done.”
Ramirez cited midyear projections showing 36.74% of students across tested grades on track to meet or master grade-level standards, up from 22% based on last year’s STAAR results.
“Something is happening, and the data doesn’t lie,” he said.
He detailed the state’s timeline for installing new leadership, noting that the deadline to apply for the board of managers was extended to Feb. 25. The commissioner will appoint a superintendent separately, he said.
As the meeting closed, Thomas returned to her apology.
“I can only apologize for the board for not doing our job,” she said. “I hope the board in the future never makes this mistake again.”
Wiping her tears, Thomas said Ramirez had previously asked why she was taking Morath’s decision so hard.
She told him it’s because when trustees eventually regain control of the district, she knows he won’t be there. He’ll be leading another district, she said.
“We will not interview him again,” Thomas said. “He’ll be lost to us forever, and that is a huge loss to Lake Worth ISD.”
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1.
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