After originally telling the Star-Telegram an educational foundation paid for a full-staff convocation event at Dickies Arena, Fort Worth ISD has reversed course, saying the district itself paid nearly $100,000 in total for the event.
The district previously said it would not be paying at all for the event.
In response to a public records request filed by the Star-Telegram on Aug. 5, the day of the full-staff convocation event at Dickies Arena, the district responded on Aug. 19 saying the Fort Worth ISD Education Foundation footed the bill for the event.
“FWISD Foundation for Education, a 501-C3 organization, notified Fort Worth ISD that they paid $80,000 directly to Dickie’s Arena for the FWISD Convocation on August 5, 2026,” the district wrote in response to the records request Wednesday.
In a statement to the Star-Telegram on Thursday, a district spokesperson gave a different number for the foundation’s contribution and a more full picture on how much the event cost.
“The total cost of the event was $188,916.12, with $90,000 provided through the Fort Worth ISD Education Foundation, reducing the amount paid by the district to $98,916.12,” the spokesperson wrote.
The individual donors who helped fund the $90,000 payment by the Fort Worth ISD Education Foundation request to remain anonymous, the district said.
In an interview with the Star-Telegram last month, Superintendent Peter Licata said that a third-party entity made the convocation event possible.
The total cost of $188,916.12 for the convocation event included renting Dickies Arena, buying shirts and rally towels, booking live music and paying for a motivational speaker and a photographer. More than 11,000 district employees were present for the mandatory convocation.
In a Facebook post several weeks ago, Fort Worth ISD’s Chief of Staff Louis Kushner said the district would not be paying for the event, and that the Fort Worth business community made the event possible.
“Convocation is completely being paid for by the business community and none of it will be paid for by FWISD,” Kushner commented. “But I am sure they will figure that out once we receive open records requests.”
More than 11,000 Fort Worth ISD staff members were in attendance at Dickies Arena for a full-staff convocation on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Samuel O’Neal FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
In Fort Worth ISD’s statement Thursday, the district said the event was important because it brought together employees ahead of the new school year with a clear focus on student achievement.
“Convocations are common practice among school districts across Texas and the country,” the statement reads. “They provide an important opportunity to bring employees together before the start of the school year to establish expectations, align around academic priorities and prepare staff to serve students and families.”
Former Superintendent Karen Molinar, who was replaced by the Texas Education Agency in March when it took over the district due to stagnant academic performance, decided not to hold a convocation event last year, citing the district’s budget constraints as the reason why.
State-appointed district leaders this summer approved an almost $1 billion budget, which included an almost $50 million deficit.
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Samuel O’Neal is the K-12 Education Reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, covering public schools and policy that impacts them. He previously worked as a staff writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer and is a graduate of Temple University.