133 jobs cut: Fort Worth ISD technology staff among district’s layoffs amid budget woes
The Fort Worth Independent School District focused its layoffs this week on its technology division, a move described as unfortunate but necessary amid budget constraints that was finalized by the Board of Education on Tuesday.
District officials on Thursday released the resolution that declares Fort Worth ISD’s workforce reduction and additional details behind the staff cuts after notifying impacted employees. The document obtained by the Star-Telegram states that within its technology division, the eliminated jobs include:
Assistant superintendent of educational technology
Director IT project management
Coordinator IT project management
IT specialist project management
Assessment data analysts, freshman success coaches and Leadership Academy Network instructional specialists also lost jobs in the cuts. On Friday, officials shared with the Star-Telegram that a total of 133 positions were cut, with four funded from local funds and 129 from federal dollars.
“The Superintendent of Schools has determined it is in the best interest of the district to restructure the organization of the district’s division of technology and other academic divisions and positions in the district,” the resolution states. “The program change is part of the ongoing efforts to address the decrease in student enrollment, improve efficiency, and reallocate resources to positively impact students.”
District officials have not answered questions regarding the amount of money their layoffs will save the district, or when the last days of employment will be for affected employees. In a statement on Friday, it was stressed that there are more than 200 open teaching positions within the district, “along with other roles in the district service center supporting our schools and students” that laid-off employees can apply for if they want to keep working for the district.
“We strongly encourage employees who have been affected to explore these available positions within the district. To facilitate this process, the Talent Management department will be organizing an internal job fair on March 5 to assist employees in identifying potential employment opportunities,” officials said.
The new information pertaining to the affected departments was released two days after the Board of Education discussed the matter in a closed session and stated that staff and budget cuts were necessary against the backdrop of expiring federal stimulus money, lack of additional state funding, declining student enrollment and a projected budget deficit. Superintendent Angélica Ramsey initially announced the pending cuts on Monday before the board finalized the decision on Tuesday night during a special meeting.
“It is crucial to remember that more than 80% of our budget is allocated to salaries. We are fundamentally a people-centered organization, and when we must address fiscal matters, it unfortunately affects our valued employees,” Ramsey said in her Monday announcement. “We understand the profound impact that these decisions have on each member of our team.”
The district’s technology division provides connectivity support to more than 140 locations such as schools, community centers and administrative buildings while overseeing network connections for more than 50,000 client computers and printers, according to the Fort Worth ISD website. The technology staff also oversees collection of demographics, attendance, grading and related data for the district’s almost 80,000 students.
Freshman success coaches have worked at all Fort Worth ISD high schools through the district’s freshman success initiative. The coaches monitor and manage data of ninth-graders and help teachers “identify solutions for improving instruction, supporting students in class and the community, increasing parent engagement and involvement, and collaborating with other adults on campus to create a college and career-readiness culture,” according to the district website.
Officials said there has been a 10% decrease in the number of students failing core classes because of the initiative.
The district’s Leadership Academy Network began in 2017 as a turnaround project for struggling campuses that are now operated by Texas Wesleyan University through a partnership with Fort Worth ISD. The revamp of these schools included an extended school day, extra student tutoring and more support and coaching for teachers.
These schools include Como Elementary, John T. White Elementary, Mitchell Boulevard Elementary, Forest Oak Middle School and Maude I. Logan Elementary, according to the university’s website. The school district’s Leadership Academy Network webpage was unavailable on Thursday afternoon.
Priscila Dilley, senior officer of the Leadership Academy Network, told the Star-Telegram on Friday that the cuts of instructional specialists happened to align with the district’s grappling with budget constraints, but the network was already planning to reallocate resources elsewhere. The seven cut positions that helped teachers with lesson plans focusing on reading and math will be repurposed to three or four positions focused on curriculum writing and direct student support.
“These people did their job. We have these amazing teachers who are getting great results with kids,” Dilley said. “One of the biggest drivers for us to have made the decision of taking it to the board for a program change was more so, not because of the budget per se, but it was more so of our needs.”
These employees will continue their work through the end of the school year until their contracts end in the summer, she said.
This story was originally published February 15, 2024 at 3:30 PM.
