At a special meeting Tuesday night, the new Fort Worth ISD leadership team will present a turnaround plan amidst their state takeover, and it includes letting some staff go.
According to the agenda, the Board of Managers will discuss behind closed doors the decision to not renew or terminate certain contracts, then take up a public vote. This reduction in staff will apply to employees under a Chapter 21 contract, which under Texas Education Code means classroom teachers, principals, librarians, nurses, or school counselors could be impacted.
Here’s what the specific agenda item says:
“The superintendent of schools has determined it is in the best interest of the District to restructure certain areas of the District. The program change is part of the ongoing efforts to address the decrease in student enrollment, improve efficiency, and redirect resources to positively impact students. This restructuring will result in changes to a number of employment areas within the district.”
Impacted staff should hear from the district Tuesday night, according to the presentation.
Who could be impacted?
According to the agenda, this reduction in staff will only impact certain campuses.
That includes “ELEVATE” campuses, which are 19 of the lowest rated campuses in the district. The board will discuss giving them more attention to improving test scores. Teachers at those schools will receive higher compensation, and they will have an additional day school year.
ELEVATE campuses will no longer have outside substitute teachers. Resident teachers, or teachers in training, will be the substitutes.
Here are the 2026-2027 ELEVATE campuses and their letter-grade ratings from 2025:
Clifford Davis Elementary (F)Diamond Hill Elementary (D)East Handley Elementary (D)Eastern Hills- West Handley Elementary (F)George Clark Elementary (D)Harlean Beal Elementary (D)Hazel Harvey Peace Elementary (D)Maudrie Walton Elementary (D)Monnig Middle (D)Morningside Middle (F)Rufino Mendoza Sr. Elementary (F)T.A. Sims Elementary (F)Van Zandt-Guinn Elementary (D)W.J. Turner Elementary (D)W.M. Green Elementary (F)Wedgewood Middle (F)Westcreek Elementary (D)Western Hills Elementary (D)William James Middle (F)
Other campuses impacted by staff reductions that have already been approved to close include the following:
Milton Kirkpatrick ElementaryCharles E. Nash ElementaryRiverside Applied Learning CenterEdward J. Briscoe ElementaryWestern Hills PrimaryDe Zavala ElementaryWhy is this happening?
Fort Worth ISD is currently under a state takeover from the Texas Education Agency. One campus, which is now closed, was given an “F” for five years in a row, and that triggered a state law that allows the TEA to intervene.
Last month, the TEA appointed a new Board of Managers to temporarily replace the elected school board, and they appointed a new superintendent, Dr. Pete Licata.
The new leadership is tasked with turning around district-wide performance, and Tuesday’s presentation will be their first reveal of new plans.
At Tuesday’s meeting, leaders will also talk about new instructional expectations moving forward. That includes keeping lights on in the classroom, having students sitting closer to the teacher, and posting lesson objectives in all classrooms.
The special board meeting is Tuesday at Fort Worth ISD headquarters at 5:30 p.m.