Fort Worth ISD’s school board opted to take no action on the pending state takeover of the district and made no changes to the superintendent’s contract Tuesday night.
The board discussed both topics in a closed session, in addition to discussing the Tarrant Appraisal District voting process for its board of directors, for about three hours.
The board took no action on an agenda item that considered “possible action” in response to the pending state takeover of the district. It also unanimously approved a motion acknowledging its evaluation of Superintendent Karen Molinar’s performance. Board member Tobi Jackson made a statement on behalf of the board clarifying the action, or lack thereof, on both items.
“While the specific details of the evaluation are confidential, the board was pleased to document Dr. Molinar’s exemplary leadership and dedicated service to the Fort Worth Independent School District. The board took no action regarding her salary or the term of her contract,” Jackson said.
“In addition, the board did not take action at this time, as it awaits the commissioner’s final decision of the informal review regarding the appointment of a board of managers for the Fort Worth Independent School District. This board remains hopeful that the dialogue and presentation shared with Commissioner Morath during last week’s informal review will lead to a different outcome on behalf of our students and our community,” Jackson said.
On Oct. 23, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced his decision to take over the school district after one of its campuses, the Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Sixth Grade Center, received its fifth consecutive failing grade . The letter grades issued annually by the Texas Education Agency provide a snapshot of how campuses and districts are performing academically, which are primarily based on STAAR test scores, or the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness.
After a campus receives five consecutive failed grades, state law requires the school be closed or the school district’s trustees be replaced with an appointed board of managers. District officials had already closed the sixth-grade campus and merged it with Forest Oak Middle School.
District officials attended an informal review meeting in Austin last week at which they presented information to Morath about the progress the district has made. The closed meeting allowed them to submit documentation and information that they want Morath to consider during his decision-making process related to the board of managers and the appointment of a conservator to oversee the transition of the takeover. It remains to be seen what Morath’s decision will be . If he moves forward with his takeover decision, the district can appeal it to the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
Applications are due on Nov. 21 for Fort Worth community members who wish to be considered for the board of managers. Morath is also planning to conduct a nationwide superintendent search but will consider current Superintendent Molinar as a candidate.
Robert Rogers, president of The Reading League Texas and chairman of the Fort Worth Students First political action committee, told the board during public comment on Tuesday that he believes in the concept of local governance but implored the board to think about how well that model has historically served school children in Fort Worth. Rogers encouraged the board to embrace the takeover.
“What are you defending based on your tenure as a trustee? Can you vigorously defend the outcomes produced by local-controlled governance?” Rogers said.
“Fort Worth can create its own course of action through this process. We are not Houston or any other city. If all of us rally behind the students in the district and focus on educational excellence in the teaching of reading, we can make the most of this takeover, create a large urban district that could be the envy of the nation, and rapidly exit takeover status because we are achieving what is best for our students,” he said.
Steven Poole, executive director of the United Educators Association, voiced a different sentiment during public comment. He contended that Fort Worth ISD can’t chart its own path during a state takeover, pointing to the takeover of Houston ISD as an example. The Houston Chronicle reported that four members of the appointed board of managers were unexpectedly removed in June; Morath had told the Chronicle that the replacements were “not at all” related to potential criticism of the superintendent or the district’s current path but were based on “a mix of factors.”
“(The board of managers) are only…. held accountable and responsible to the commissioner of education, plain and simple,” Poole said. “The idea that we can chart our own way is absolutely not true. So you should, as representatives of all communities in Fort Worth, explore every option to push back on this takeover. Our communities deserve it,” Poole said.
Superintendent receives evaluation
The school board made no changes to Molinar’s contract after discussing her evaluation in a closed session.
Her evaluation is partly based on district goals set by Molinar and the school board. The district’s 2025-2029 strategic plan calls for the steady improvement of state test scores over this period. One goal is to have half of the district’s third graders performing on grade level in reading and math by 2029. In the spring, 41% of third graders met grade level in reading while 34% met grade level in math.
Molinar earns $360,000 annually, and her contract is set to expire on June 30, 2028. The school board can review and adjust Molinar’s salary at any time.
In the instance that Molinar’s employment is terminated by way of resignation, mutual agreement or action of the board, her severance payout can’t exceed one year of her annual salary and benefits, according to the contract. It remains to be seen how her severance could be impacted if Morath chooses another candidate to serve as superintendent amid the takeover.
Molinar is able to be reassigned from her superintendent position to another position in the district through mutual written agreement between her and the school board, according to her contract.
The school board was required to give her an evaluation by Oct. 31 as outlined in her contract. Board members discussed her performance in a closed session at its regular meeting on Oct. 28 but didn’t take action on it until Tuesday night.
“It may seem like the agenda item is in response to last week’s decision by TEA but it is actually standard operations for FWISD,” a district spokesperson said in a statement last week.
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