District overview
Fort Worth Independent School District
A state takeover changed who runs Fort Worth ISD this year. Here is who is in charge, what it spends, and what is underway.
Who runs Fort Worth ISD right now?
For most of 2025, an elected nine-member Board of Trustees ran Fort Worth ISD. On October 23, 2025, the Texas Education Commissioner notified the district he would appoint a Board of Managers and a Conservator to take over, citing campus performance ratings. The trustees voted to appeal, but by spring 2026 a different, state-appointed nine-member Board of Managers was holding meetings, electing its own officers, and directing the district alongside a state conservator.
The state ordered a takeover
The Commissioner's October 23, 2025 letter cited campus performance ratings. Fort Worth ISD had 11 campuses rated F and 28 rated D on the state's 2024-25 accountability ratings.
The elected board fought it
On December 9, 2025, the elected trustees voted 7-1 to have district lawyers appeal the decision to the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
A new board took over anyway
By April 28, 2026, a nine-member Board of Managers was electing its own president and vice president and running meetings, with state Conservator Christopher Ruszkowski attending.
Leadership changed with it
Superintendent Dr. Karen Molinar left the role during the transition; Dr. Peter Licata has served as superintendent since spring 2026, and the district eliminated about 349 central-office positions in its first budget under the new board.
This is a governance change at the district level, not a shutdown. Schools stayed open and day-to-day instruction continued throughout. Only the district's lowest-rated campuses lost local control over curriculum, staffing and budget under a separate new framework; every other campus kept its usual autonomy.
Where Fort Worth ISD stands
Up from 70 (also grade C) the year before.
Out of about 125 rated campuses; 28 more were rated D. The Commissioner cited campus ratings when ordering the state takeover.
$0.7869 for daily operations (M&O, unchanged) plus $0.2422 for debt service (I&S, down from $0.2755). Local property tax and this rate largely determine how much the state's funding formula sends the district.
Adopted general fund expenditures of $904 million against projected revenue of $854.2 million, covered by drawing down reserves.
Added up from the eliminated-position counts the district reported by division in its July 21, 2026 organizational chart review; reported savings across those divisions total about $28.5 million.
Out of a possible $19.4 million in College, Career or Military Readiness Outcomes Bonus funding; the district says about $103 million has gone unclaimed over six years.
Reported as "65,000+ students" across every neighborhood in Fort Worth.
Rated D or F overall; the district's regional office, not the campus, now directs curriculum, staffing, schedule and budget. Only 8 campuses (three straight years of an A rating) keep full local autonomy.
Major projects
Facility Master Plan: school closures and consolidations
In progressA multi-year plan to close, consolidate or repurpose school buildings as districtwide enrollment keeps falling. Two schools closed in 2024-25; five more close or consolidate for 2025-26; the plan lists further closures every year through 2028-29.
- Board approves a resolution calling for a facility master plan study
- Board approves the Facility Master Plan
- S.S. Dillow Elementary permanently retired; Eastern Hills Elementary demolition begins
- Five more campuses close or consolidate
- Four more elementary campuses close (De Zavala, A.M. Pate, J.T. Stevens, Atwood McDonald)
Funding
General operating budget and the 2021 Capital Improvement Program bond
The district frames closures as "rightsizing" buildings to declining enrollment rather than a funded construction program.
2026-27 central-office reorganization
AdoptedNew district leadership eliminated about 349 central-office and administrative positions and cut the superintendent's direct reports from 15 to 8 as part of the 2026-27 budget.
- Superintendent and Chief of Staff begin a division-by-division savings review
- CFO and budget team finalize the 2026-27 budget
- Reorganization and savings presented to the board
Funding
2026-27 General Fund budget
Reported savings of roughly $28.5 million across the reorganized divisions.
Earned Autonomy campus framework
LaunchedA three-tier system that ties how much control a campus keeps over curriculum, staffing, schedule and budget to its state accountability rating. The district's 24 lowest-rated campuses now operate under direct district control; 8 campuses with three straight years of an A rating keep full autonomy.
- Framework presented to the Board of Managers
Funding
Existing district operating budget
No new funding was described for the framework itself.
Farrington Field land sale and stadium renovation
Proposals under reviewThe district is weighing two competing proposals to purchase and develop land around its Farrington Field stadium for mixed-use, sports-anchored development, with proceeds intended to help pay for renovating the district-owned stadium.
- District issues a request for proposals for the surrounding land
- District receives two proposals
- District interviews both respondents
Funding
Proceeds from the proposed land sale or lease
No sale price or renovation budget has been finalized.
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