No timeline yet for returning Fort Worth ISD to its elected board after Hinojosa's win

Gina Hinojosa won the governor's race on a promise to end the state takeover of Fort Worth ISD, but nobody can yet say when the district's elected board will get its authority back.

The election itself changes nothing on paper. A nine-member board of managers appointed by Education Commissioner Mike Morath still runs the district, and the elected trustees keep their seats without a vote on the budget, policy or anything else.

Elected trustees ask for restraint

On Wednesday, Nov. 4, before the appointed board met, elected trustee Roxanne Martinez spoke to reporters at the gates of the District Service Center, with fellow trustees Anne Darr and Quinton Phillips, parents and local-control advocates beside her.

According to the Fort Worth Report, Martinez asked the managers to act as caretakers until trustees return and to "pause any irreversible decisions that can and should wait." She also warned, the Report said, that students "cannot afford to become a casualty of another transition."

Board President Pete Geren said the managers intend to cooperate with the elected members, the Report said. Geren told the Texas Tribune he expects the managers to be replaced soon, without knowing when, and that he would respect whatever Hinojosa and a new commissioner decide.

District spokesperson Evan Anderson said in a statement that "political circumstances may change" but the focus on students would not, pointing to gains on a fall benchmark exam.

What the law allows

Hinojosa has said she is interviewing candidates for commissioner. Her nominee needs approval from two-thirds of the Texas Senate, which Republicans still control, though the Tribune reported she can name an acting commissioner right away. Texas A&M law professor Rachel Moran told the Report that Morath's term ends shortly before Hinojosa takes office, which raises questions about whether Abbott could reappoint him first.

A commissioner can swap out individual managers at any time. Removing the whole board generally has to wait until the school behind the intervention earns acceptable ratings for two straight years, and the return to elected control is phased in a third of the seats at a time.

In Fort Worth, the school whose five straight failing ratings led to the takeover, Forest Oak's sixth-grade Leadership Academy, closed in 2023. Ending takeovers outright would take action by the Legislature.

The fate of Superintendent Peter Licata, whom Morath picked in March, is also open. The Report said his four-year contract pays $360,000 a year and has no buyout clause. Licata did not respond to the Report's request for comment.

The district still faces a shortfall of nearly $50 million, falling enrollment and some of the lowest achievement levels in Texas, the Report noted.

Sources

fortworthreport.org

The Texas Tribune