Mayor Mattie Parker paused, seeking the right word.
Fear came to mind first, but she said that’s not the word. What she has heard from Fort Worth ISD parents as a result of Texas taking over the 60,000-student district in March is more complicated.
Parker and state Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, each discussed the takeover Wednesday during an event hosted by The Texas Tribune at Texas Christian University. Both said the state’s takeover process leaves key questions unanswered.
“I always knew it was going to be a difficult transition, and that’s understandable,” Parker said.
FWISD needed change, Parker and Collier said.
The state needs to give school districts enough time for a locally led turnaround, Collier said. But the legislator noted it shouldn’t be too much time.
Intervention happens when a school or a district receives five straight F’s in the state’s academic accountability system, which is mostly based on STAAR. The threshold triggers a consideration by the Texas education commissioner on whether to either close down a failing school or replace a locally elected school board and superintendent with state appointees.
Collier sees a flaw in the law: Elected trustees are sidelined the entire time without any power. She is proposing a bill that creates a continuity board that allows for a smooth transition of power from the state-appointed board of managers back to elected trustees.
“What if the board of managers don’t do well? Why do you keep them in place?” Collier said. “They said that they were supposed to evaluate the progress of the school (district) within two years. If you haven’t done anything, you just need to give it back.”
Parker called Collier’s proposal an interesting idea. Elected trustees sit waiting to return — yet still run for election — and meanwhile have no governing power, she said.
“That’s real confusing,” Parker said.
The mayor recalled lawmakers saying no district would let a school fail long enough to trigger a takeover.
“If that wasn’t anticipated, did they really think about sustainability long term for local communities and school boards?” Parker asked.
None of that immediately eases parental anxiety about the takeover. Parker pointed to curriculum changes, which she said have been a lot for teachers and students.
Parents tell the mayor they aren’t receiving clear communication from FWISD administration and that central office leadership lacks a real understanding of the community.
Improving student outcomes and schools are necessary for Fort Worth and Texas, Parker said. But she noted something got lost in that discussion: the importance of teachers.
“I don’t think the intervention process gets any better in Fort Worth or anywhere else for that matter, if we don’t return to that respect for the teaching profession and making sure they feel supported,” she said.
Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez.
Disclosure: FWISD manager Pete Geren leads the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. FWISD manager Laurie George is a member of the Report’s reader advisory council. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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