Fort Worth trustees are searching for a superintendent. Who will lead in the interim?
Deputy Superintendent Karen Molinar will be the temporary leader of the Fort Worth school district starting Sept. 1 as the board of trustees continues to search for a new superintendent, a process that is proving longer than originally anticipated.
The board was expected to a name a sole finalist Tuesday night, but pulled that agenda item at the beginning of the meeting.
Tobi Jackson, the board president, said the board was “continuing to make progress daily” and that a decision would be announced at an upcoming meeting “soon.” A special board meeting is on the schedule for next week, on Aug. 30.
“The Board is grateful to know we will have Mrs. Molinar’s calm, confident leadership during this transition period to a new superintendent,” Jackson said in a statement after the meeting. “She is liked and respected by her colleagues, and the District will be well served by her knowledge and guidance.”
Molinar’s experience ranges across the Fort Worth school system, where she has served in a variety of leadership roles with increasing responsibilities for 24 years. Starting as a classroom teacher at Washington Heights, on the north side of Fort Worth, she progressed to assistant principal, principal, executive director, assistant superintendent and chief of elementary schools.
She currently serves as deputy superintendent, a position in which she supervises the superintendent’s leadership team while overseeing the department of policy and planning.
She has an associate degree in Early Childhood Development, Bachelor of Education from Salisbury State University in Maryland and a Master of Education Administration from Tarleton State University and is currently working on her doctorate of education.
She has a daughter who attends a Fort Worth school.
In a statement, Molinar said she believes “in the importance of relationships between all stakeholders to achieve success for our students.”
In addition to discussing the next superintendent and appointing an interim, board members heard reports Tuesday on an updated compensation manual, the way federal COVID-relief dollars are being spent and the progress made in this year’s accountability scores.
Test scores showed improvement this year, helping the district raise its letter grade from the state from a C to a B.
Those ratings were presented at the meeting Tuesday night, but one trustee noted that changes in the accountability formula resulted in districts across the state improving over recent years.
“The scores have improved, but the algorithm has changed and most of the scores have improved in the state of Texas,” Trustee Camille Rodriguez said. “We still haven’t closed the gap as compared to the state, so we need to work on that. I’m glad we did better, but there’s still a lot of work to do and there must be improvement for our students of color.”
Outgoing superintendent says ‘education is under attack’
Outgoing Superintendent Kent Scribner, which is in his final days as the leader of the district, ended his second to last meeting by saying that “the best days for Fort Worth ISD lie ahead.”
“The last seven years has been the high point of my of my career both personally and professionally,” he said. “I understand the board’s been working very, very hard to select the next leader, who I will be 100% supportive of moving forward and provide whatever support he or she asks for. “
Board members presented the outgoing leader with a framed picture of him with the board.
The departure of Scribner, who joined the district in 2015 after leading the Phoenix Union High School District for about eight years, comes amid an enduring barrage of criticism from outspoken parents who have appeared at every school board meeting for the last year. Many of those same people attended the meeting Tuesday, celebrating the settlement of a lawsuit against the board regarding mask mandates, and questioning the board about a proposed tax rate.
Scribner has spoken out against critics of critical race theory (CRT), calling the controversy a “manufactured crisis” by a “small, loud group who comes every other Tuesday night.”
On the first day of school earlier this month, Scribner told the Star-Telegram that he was concerned about the attacks on education.
“I think public education in general has been under attack,” he said. “I think that at the national level, you’re seeing a challenge to democracy. I think the focus on attacking school districts and public schools is part of that and I think we as a society need to really take a second look and determine whether or not we’re going to play into that narrative or stand for what’s right.”
He said that is not the reason he is stepping down, however, adding that he and his wife decided that “20 is plenty” referring to the number of years he has served as superintendent over his career.
The comments come after more than a year of school board meetings fraught with tension over a series of issues including masks for COVID-19, claims about the teaching of CRT, and the existence of the Racial Equity Committee within the district.
“Public education is the primary mechanism for social mobility,” Scribner told the Star-Telegram. “We believe that education is a great equalizer. To many of us that’s a warm and fulfilling sentiment. To some people that’s a threat.”
Scribner is one of at least nine North Texas superintendents to step down in recent months, with many citing the culture wars that have consumed the process of governing school districts.
Kent Scribner will be paid through 2023
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 a copy of the agreement to release Scribner from his contract obtained by the Star-Telegram.
He will be paid his full salary and benefits through Feb. 28.
According to the joint agreement voted on in March, he will step down as superintendent on Aug. 31.
The agreement, approved unanimously by the board, includes two payments totaling $509,827 for his continued work with the district. 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.
He’ll be under the direct supervision of the next superintendent. Scribner’s pay will be the same as during his time as superintendent.
This report includes content from Star-Telegram archives.
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 11:06 PM.
