Fort Worth school board to consider early retirement deal with Superintendent Kent Scribner
The Fort Worth school board will consider an early retirement agreement with Superintendent Kent Scribner during a special meeting Tuesday.
The board will also review potential search firms for his replacement.
Scribner announced his intentions to resign in January, telling board members that he planned to stay until the end of his contract, which runs through 2024.
If the board releases Scribner, he could receive up to 75% of his remaining salary and benefits, according to his contract. His salary is $330,000 a year.
Scribner was hired as superintendent in 2015 to replace Walter Dansby.
Since then, the district has navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, increased equity efforts and passed two major bond projects totaling nearly $2 billion, but his tenure has also seen a decrease in academic outcomes, turbulent and politically-charged board meetings and declining enrollment even before the pandemic.
More than 40 residents have consistently attended district board meetings to call for Scribner’s removal. Organizers of these efforts criticized Scribner’s priorities and cited spring 2021 STAAR results as a one of the many signs of his 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.
During a November campaign event for Tarrant County judge, former Mayor Betsy Price said she no longer has confidence in Scribner and “wouldn’t be surprised if Kent isn’t here in a few months.”
Some residents expressed their support for Scribner during these meetings, citing his approach to the COVID-19 pandemic and attempts to increase equity in the district.
The district’s contentious school board meetings have been the center for critical race theory (CRT) debates since they returned to in-person in May, filled with shouting matches, hours-long public comments and security escorts.
At a Thursday panel discussion hosted by the Texas Tribune, Scribner described the critical race theory debate as a “manufactured crisis” and said the district has never taught CRT.
Scribner oversaw the passage of two major bond projects totaling nearly $2 billion to renovate district high schools and middle schools, but the recent $1.2 billion bond passed by only 57 votes.
Critics of Scribner said the slim margin of approval shows that a lot of residents are upset with the school district’s leadership.
A special election is scheduled for May 7 to fill vacancies in District 1 and District 4.
This story was originally published March 25, 2022 at 5:32 PM.
