What Fort Worth ISD’s new conservator can — and can’t — do during state takeover
Abrupt changes in leadership are underway in the Fort Worth Independent School District after the Texas education commissioner announced on Thursday that he was appointing a conservator to oversee and direct district governance during a state takeover.
The conservator, Christopher Ruszkowski, starts this job immediately with a wide range of responsibilities and powers specified by state law and Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath. His appointment will be followed by the appointment of a new board of managers that will replace the elected school board and a potential new superintendent. Fort Worth ISD’s current Superintendent Karen Molinar will be considered as a candidate in a nationwide search.
Among Ruszkowski’s main tasks is overseeing turnaround plans for low-performing campuses, according to Morath. He is also “overseeing and directing as necessary” the decisions made by the superintendent, principals and governance team; reporting the district’s actions related to governance and academic progress to the Texas Education Agency; and attending board meetings, which will include closed sessions.
In a statement on Thursday, Ruszkowski said he views his appointment as “another opportunity to engage in public service of the highest calling.” He currently serves as a conservator of IDEA Public Schools and previously served as New Mexico’s secretary of education, among other jobs in the education landscape.
“Throughout my three decades in education, I’ve been honored to take on unique roles during critical inflection points for schools, states and organizations. This conservator appointment is another opportunity to engage in public service of the highest calling. I look forward to working with district leadership in service of the students, teachers and community of Fort Worth,” Ruszkowski said.
A state takeover by the Texas Education Agency was announced last month after the Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Sixth Grade campus received five consecutive F grades from the state for its academic performance. This triggered a state law requiring the campus to either be closed or for the school board to be replaced with a board of managers. Fort Worth ISD already closed the campus after the 2022-23 school year and consolidated it with Forest Oak Middle.
The district has two weeks to appeal the takeover decision to the State Office of Administrative Hearings after an informal review took place on Oct. 30 in Austin. District officials had the first opportunity to push back on state intervention through this review. Morath reaffirmed the takeover decision on Thursday in a letter to the district while also naming his appointment of Ruszkowski.
Molinar said in a Thursday statement she still intends to apply for the superintendent position as TEA’s process moves forward, and she will continue to serve students in Fort Worth ISD in the meantime.
“The focus remains on meeting the needs of our students in FWISD. Our employees are committed to providing high quality, on-level instruction each day in every classroom across our district,” she said.
School board President Roxanne Martinez said on Thursday the board “strongly disagrees” with appointments of a conservator and board of managers and will “consider all options” in response, including filing an appeal.
“We believe our district has demonstrated meaningful progress and that local governance, supported by our community, is essential to sustained student success. We are immensely proud of the work being led by our educators, staff, and superintendent. They continue to provide high-quality instruction to our students every day and remain steadfast in their commitment to serving this community,” Martinez said in a statement.
“The Board will consider all options, including filing a formal appeal of the commissioner’s decision. We do so not in defiance, but in defense of our students, our community, and the principles of local governance that ensure accountability to the people we serve,” she added.
Here’s what else community members should know about the appointment of Ruszkowski and his authority as a conservator.
What state law, education professors say
Conservators have the power to direct, approve or disapprove actions of the board of trustees, superintendent and campus principals, according to state law. This means they can reverse actions taken by other district leaders.
A conservator might step in if they see, for example, a district’s centralized curriculum that’s moving academic progress forward potentially being disrupted by the decision of another leader, said Duncan Klussmann, a clinical associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Houston. In the case of a decision reversal, it’s in the best interest of everyone for the conservator to provide an explanation of why they made the move, he said.
“For the effectiveness of it, you would clearly want to explain. If you’re overruling what a local school board or what the local superintendent has decided, you would want to make a clear explanation of why you’re making that change,” Klussmann said.
Another Texas professor says these reversal powers are tied to their duties defined by the commissioner of education. Every situation where a conservator is appointed looks slightly different depending on the district.
“The conservator has the power to potentially disapprove or stop certain kind of decisions or plans that are being made in a school district. However, the extent to which they can do that, and even need to do that, is both tied to kind of how the commissioner defines their powers and their areas, the extent to which there’s clear transparency between the conservator’s reports and the board of managers,” said David DeMatthews, a professor of educational leadership and policy at the University of Texas at Austin.
In general, conservators are unable to take any action related to a district election, such as ordering one or canceling one. They’re unable to change the number of board members or the method of their selection. They’re also prohibited from setting a tax rate for the district or adopting a budget “that provides for spending a different amount, exclusive of required debt service, from that previously adopted by the board of trustees,” according to state law.
Both professors say it’s expected for most individuals appointed to leadership positions by the commissioner to be on similar pages since their job is executing the commissioner’s vision for state intervention. But DeMatthews did note that there have been disagreements seen in the takeover of Houston ISD among appointees.
“I also think both the scope of the call for the conservator, the length of time that they’re kind of involved, probably shapes the extent to which a conservator might not be on the same page as a superintendent or board,” DeMatthews said.
Morath is required to review the need for a conservator at least every 90 days, per state law. The conservator should be removed “unless the commissioner determines that continued appointment is necessary for effective governance of the school district or delivery of instructional services.”
They’re expected “to help implement and sustain improvements within two years of placement,” according to TEA.
