Lake Worth ISD will start its first full school year under state-appointed leadership with a budget shortfall that district leaders say is designed to improve classrooms, not simply cover costs.<\/p>\n
The board of managers on Wednesday unanimously approved a 2026-27 budget with a projected $1.4 million general fund shortfall. Superintendent Ena Meyers presented the shortfall as a planned investment in Lake Worth\u2019s academic turnaround, including new lesson plans, teacher support and staffing changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working toward restoring our financial stability while also improving our student outcomes,\u201d Meyers told managers. \u201cWe are not deficit cutting for its own sake.\u201d<\/p>\n
The budget includes about $39.8 million in general fund revenue and $41.2 million in spending. State funding makes up the largest share of revenue, at about $23.6 million, followed by $15.3 million from local sources and $940,000 from federal programs.<\/p>\n
Previous shortfalls<\/p>\n
The shortfall is not new territory for Lake Worth ISD.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The district adopted general fund budget shortfalls from 2022 to 2025, according to budget documents. The largest came in 2024-25, when Lake Worth ISD adopted a general fund budget with a projected $2.13 million shortfall. Last year\u2019s adopted budget projected a $171,847 surplus in the general fund.<\/p>\n
Meyers said the district is still dealing with prior-year financial pressures, rising operating costs and state revenue that has not kept pace with the cost of running schools.<\/p>\n
The difference this year is that district leaders are tying the shortfall to a turnaround plan, Meyers said.<\/p>\n
Protect classroom as turnaround work begins<\/p>\n
Lake Worth ISD is under state control after years of low academic performance in all five of its schools<\/a>. Meyers and the appointed managers are now responsible for improving student outcomes while rebuilding the systems that support schools.<\/p>\n Some of that work began before Meyers arrived. Former Superintendent Mark Ramirez pushed Lake Worth toward common lesson structures, more classroom visits and state-developed Bluebonnet Learning materials<\/a> before leaving during the takeover transition. Meyers is now building her first budget around that instructional work while adding her own systems for monitoring classrooms and supporting teachers.<\/p>\n Meyers said the budget is built around \u201cExcellence by Design,\u201d her framework for Lake Worth\u2019s turnaround. The plan focuses on instruction, leadership accountability, stronger central office systems and literacy and math achievement.<\/p>\n The goal: Protect what students experience in classrooms while the district works toward financial stability over several years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe do not want our students, at the school and student level, to feel the financial stresses that do come sometimes with the district,\u201d Meyers said.<\/p>\n The approach echoes changes underway in Fort Worth ISD, Tarrant County\u2019s other district under state control, where leaders are moving support closer to campuses and standardizing instruction.<\/p>\n What about the property tax rate?<\/p>\n Lake Worth ISD\u2019s proposed property tax rate is $1.2552 per $100 of property valuation, the same as last school year.\u00a0<\/p>\n DeAnne Page, Lake Worth ISD\u2019s chief financial officer, told managers they will vote on the rate in August.<\/p>\n State of education in Lake Worth<\/p>\n The budget vote came the same night district leaders outlined the academic work ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n Deputy Superintendent Enrique Rodriguez \u2014 a new hire who followed Meyers from Houston ISD \u2014 told managers the district\u2019s students ended the school year below national averages on the NWEA Measures of Academic Progress assessment, used to track student performance and growth.<\/p>\n Lake Worth students ended the year behind most of their peers nationally, Rodriguez said. In math, they scored higher than 37% of students who took the same assessment. In reading, they scored higher than 40%.<\/p>\n Student growth was closer to average. In math, Lake Worth students grew at about the same rate as 49% of students nationally. In reading, they grew at about the same rate as 51%.<\/p>\n That means Lake Worth students are growing academically, but not fast enough to close achievement gaps, district leaders said.<\/p>\n Those results mirror what showed up on this year\u2019s STAAR exams<\/a>: Lake Worth students improved, especially in math, but still lagged far behind state averages and remained at the bottom of Tarrant County districts. The district gained 9 percentage points in math and 3 points in reading on the spring 2026 STAAR, according to preliminary state data.<\/p>\n Meyers said the district\u2019s budget is intended to focus heavily on literacy because reading cuts across grade levels and subjects.\u00a0<\/p>\n Students will receive more frequent checks for understanding during class, Meyers said. Teachers will ask students to show they understand their lessons. The demonstrations will determine whether students are ready to work independently or need more time on a particular lesson.<\/p>\n The model is meant to change day by day, rather than place students into fixed groups.<\/p>\n \u201cA kid today could get it and maybe tomorrow they don\u2019t,\u201d Meyers said in an interview with the Fort Worth Report. \u201cEvery day you can prove you knew it or you didn\u2019t know it.\u201d<\/p>\n Lake Worth ISD also plans to expand the use of Bluebonnet Learning lessons in reading<\/a> and math. Teachers will receive clearer expectations for what instruction will look like, and administrators will conduct regular spot observations to monitor classroom practice.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m expecting to walk in and see good instruction, they should know before I walk in there,\u201d Meyers said.<\/p>\n Building a teacher pipeline<\/p>\n One of the larger staffing investments tied to the budget is a $706,125 contract with Scoot Education for 15 TeachStart fellows<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meyers said the fellows will work alongside certified teachers while pursuing certifications themselves. They will not serve as teachers of record or lead their own classrooms, she said. The district hopes the program will create a pipeline of future teachers for Lake Worth ISD.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get teachers ready and certified,\u201d Meyers said. \u201cWe have to have a pipeline somehow.\u201d<\/p>\n The cost is all-inclusive for the school year, she said. She hopes to place the fellows at elementary campuses and seek grant or philanthropic support to expand the model to middle and high school.<\/p>\n Board President Tom Harris praised Meyers and her team for completing the budget.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got some challenges, to say the least, financially,\u201d Harris said. But the teacher development work shows the changes that could happen when the district focuses on students and makes sure teachers are not alone, he added.<\/p>\n The district\u2019s shortfall-reduction plan includes staffing efficiency, attendance improvement, program reviews, grant alignment, stronger budget controls and enrollment stabilization.<\/p>\n Meyers said several investments are one-time or time-limited, while recurring costs will need to be managed closely. Her presentation laid out a three-year path: stabilize systems and identify savings in 2026-27, reduce recurring costs and improve attendance in 2027-28, and move toward a balanced budget in 2028-29.<\/p>\n Managers asked few questions before approving the budget. No one spoke during the public hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n The quiet vote framed Lake Worth ISD\u2019s first budget under the appointed board: A financial plan with a shortfall, pitched as part of a larger effort to improve what happens in classrooms.<\/p>\n For Meyers, the first full budget under her control starts with a gap.<\/p>\n The test is whether it helps close another one.<\/p>\n Disclosure: Lake Worth ISD manager Tom Harris is an executive vice president at Hillwood, a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. News decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n