On Thursday, Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath says he’s ordering the appointment of a conservator and a board of managers to govern the Fort Worth ISD after the school board “failed the students” and didn’t implement changes that improved their performance for several consecutive years.

But what is a board of managers?

According to the TEA, a board of managers “is a temporary governance team appointed by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to help a school district navigate systemic, academic, financial, or governance challenges.”

A board of managers is made up of local community members who take over the responsibilities of the elected school district’s board of trustees. The board will work with the appointed superintendent “to improve student outcomes, strengthen operations, and restore public trust,” and will have all the responsibilities of the elected board of trustees.

The TEA is taking applications from community members who would like to serve on the board of managers and has shared an ideal candidate profile here. Their role includes:

Making decisions that prioritize students

Promoting transparency and accountability

Restoring the community’s confidence in the district.

Morath will set the exit criteria for the board of managers. Once those criteria are met, the commissioner will announce the end of the appointment period and transition governance back to the elected trustees. Returning to trustee control can take two years, with one-third of the board of managers replaced by trustees every 12 months.

Trustees still in office when governance is restored will return to their previous position. Elections will continue on schedule, so new board members may be elected during the appointment period, but they may not have any decision-making power until the appointment period has ended and the authority has been returned to the elected school board members.

To keep families, staff, and the broader community informed and involved throughout this process, TEA will host two public meetings on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. and on Thursday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. The locations for the public meetings will be announced at a later date.