Protesters demand Fort Worth school district superintendent’s removal during meeting
Critics of Fort Worth school district superintendent Kent Scribner attended a board meeting Tuesday to call for his removal, citing low test scores and declining enrollment.
The more than 40 attendees gathered at the Fort Worth Professional Development Center, with many holding signs stating that Scribner must be removed and some speaking during the meeting’s public comment section.
Carlos Turcios, Fort Worth resident and one of the organizers of the protest, said residents and parents desperately want to see a leadership change.
Turcios said many see Scribner focusing on the wrong topics and do not see the pandemic as an excuse for students falling behind.
“The biggest problem that the [district] is facing is failing student performance,” he said. “That should the top conversation in the whole city.”
Turcios and many of the speakers cited spring 2021 STAAR results as a one of the many signs of Scribner’s failure.
More than 60% of students in grade levels three through eight failed their STAAR math exam, and more than 45% failed their STAAR reading exam, according to district staff reports during a July 27 board meeting.
The district received an accountability rating of C by the Texas Education Agency in 2018-19, missing a B by one tenth of 1% . The state waived accountability ratings for the 2019-2020 school year because of the pandemic.
The district has also dealt with declining enrollment, seeing numbers fall more than 3% in the three years before the pandemic.
“Why has this gotten worse in you six-year tenure?” said Jaclyn Booth, Fort Worth resident and parent, during the meeting. “Trustees this is a fixable problem. Put the right leader in.”
Some attendees and speakers expressed their support for Scribner, citing his approach to the COVID-19 pandemic and attempts to increase equity in the district.
An action item regarding a superintendent evaluation was in the meeting agenda, but was pulled along with other items by the board.
