Outgoing Fort Worth schools superintendent to receive full pay through February 2023
Kent Scribner, outgoing superintendent of Fort Worth schools, will be paid his full salary and benefits through Feb. 28, 2023, according to a copy of the agreement to release Scribner from his contract obtained by the Star-Telegram.
Scribner announced his plans to retire in January, telling the school board he planned to stay through the end of his contract in 2024. According to the joint agreement voted on Tuesday, he will step down as superintendent on Aug. 31, 2022. The board said Scribner will continue to serve in an advisory capacity through February 2023. The agreement specifies that he will technically be a “district ambassador for public relations.”
Scribner and the school board agreed Tuesday that he will resign from his post on Aug. 31. The agreement, approved unanimously by the board, includes two payments totaling $509,827 for his continued work with the district through Feb. 28, 2023.
He’ll also get paid by Aug. 31, $63,250 for unused sick leave, vacation days and personal leave, at a rate of $1,375 a day, minus any of that paid time off he uses before then, according to the agreement.
Starting Aug. 31, Scribner will be given the title of district ambassador for public relations, but will be placed on “school related leave” with pay and benefits through Feb. 28, 2023, according to the agreement. He’ll be under the direct supervision of the next superintendent. Scribner’s pay will be the same as during his time as superintendent.
That pay will be broken into two sums, according to the agreement. He will receive two payments of $254,913.50, one by Aug. 31, and the other after Jan. 1, 2023, but by Feb. 28 of that year, totaling $509,827.
He’ll turn in his keys, phones, computers, credit cards and any other district property on Feb. 28, and will be required to have all of his personal property moved out of his office by Aug. 31.
Scribner will be required to pay out of pocket any attorneys’ fees he’s racked up during negotiations of his contract release, according to the agreement.
Scribner said in his resignation letter that his time as superintendent “has been the high point of my career, both personally and professionally.” He said he is most proud of his work to promote racial equity in the district.
Since Scribner’s hiring in 2015 to replace Walter Dansby, he has led the district through two major bonds totaling almost $2 billion, new school openings and the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent $1.2 billion bond passed by only 57 votes.
Critics of Scribner said the slim margin of approval shows that many residents are upset with the school district’s leadership.
Before the board’s vote Tuesday, speakers at the meeting again called for him to resign, addressing transgender issues, academic performance and critical race theory.
He has worked to increase equity efforts, but under his leadership the district has seen a decrease in academic performance, 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, with organizers citing the spring 2021 STAAR results as a sign of his failure and criticizing his priorities.
More than 60% of students in grade levels 3 through 8 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 in 2018-19 received a C accountability rating from the Texas Education Agency. It missed a B rating by one-tenth of 1%, and the state waived 2019-20 accountability ratings because of the pandemic.
Superintendent search
The board began the process of looking for a new superintendent Tuesday night when trustees interviewed four consulting firms vying for a contract to search for the next leader of Fort Worth schools, asking the same questions of each firm.
No decision was made as to which firm the district would award the contract at the Tuesday board meeting.
The board questioned each firm on things like metrics used to determine the success of superintendents it has helped place at other districts.
The board also questioned the firms’ representatives about challenges in finding a new superintendent, how they will attract candidates, how each firm utilizes diversity and inclusion and how it gets input from different groups on what they want in the process.