Lake Worth ISD will be taken over by the state, TEA officials announce
The Texas Education Agency is taking over the Lake Worth Independent School District after Marilyn Miller Language Academy received five consecutive F ratings, state education officials announced Thursday.
The takeover means Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath will name a replacement for district Superintendent Mark Ramirez and appoint a board of managers to temporarily replace the district’s school board.
Lake Worth ISD is the second Tarrant County school district to be taken over by the state in the past year. TEA officials announced in October that they would take over Fort Worth ISD after a similar series of consecutive F ratings at a middle school in the district.
Texas law requires the state education commissioner to do one of two things anytime a single campus receives a fifth straight F rating: order that campus closed, or take over the entire district, replacing its elected school board with an appointed board of managers.
In an enforcement letter sent to Lake Worth ISD officials and school board members, Morath said he planned to appoint a board of managers and a conservator to oversee the district. The board of managers temporarily replaces the district’s elected school board. The conservator oversees turnaround plans at low-performing schools.
Morath said the board of managers will remain in place until no campuses in the district have consecutive years of F ratings. Ideally, the district will reach a point where no campuses receive an F rating at all, he said.
Although a fifth consecutive F rating at Miller Language Academy triggered the takeover, the district’s problems go beyond a single campus, Morath said: Only 22% of students across all grades and subjects met grade level on the most recent STAAR exam. That’s 28% lower than the statewide percentage.
“Lake Worth ISD’s low level of student achievement is a long-standing issue, predating the COVID-19 disruptions, and has gotten worse recently,” he said.
Lake Worth ISD has struggled academically for years. Five of the district’s six campuses received F ratings in this year’s accountability scores. The one exception, Lake Worth High School, received a C. The district as a whole received a D.
But since then, the district has had a change in leadership. Superintendent Mark Ramirez joined the district over the summer. Morath said he also intends to replace Ramirez in the district’s top job. In an online call with reporters Thursday afternoon, Morath said he’s “a big fan” of the work Ramirez has done to try to boost student achievement in his short time in the district, but said he plans to replace him in the interest of creating a new leadership environment. Morath said the district’s board failed its students by allowing schools to languish for so long before they took steps to turn them around.
“If they had taken steps to bring Dr. Ramirez in five years ago, I highly doubt we’d be having this conversation,” he said.
In a statement, Ramirez said district officials accept the decision, and see it as an opportunity to accelerate student learning.
“Our focus remains clear: supporting teachers, improving instruction and doing what’s best for kids,” he said. “We are committed to transparency, accountability and partnership as we work side-by-side with TEA to ensure lasting improvements for our students.”
School board President Armando Velazquez told the Star-Telegram in October that the district had been “laser-focused on improving student outcomes” since Ramirez’s arrival.
“We’ve owned our situation. We’ve owned up to it since the accountability ratings came out. This community cares about its schools, is committed to its schools,” Velazquez said. “We’re confident that at the end of the year, we’re going to have some very, very substantial gains all across the board for our students.”
Apply online to serve on board of managers
After the commissioner announces a takeover, district leaders are entitled to an informal review, during which they can present any information they think is relevant to the takeover decision. Lake Worth ISD’s informal review is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. on Dec. 19 in Austin. After that informal review, the process also allows school boards to appeal the decision, which Fort Worth ISD’s board is currently doing.
TEA’s process for a state takeover involves a series of public meetings to hear concerns from community members, followed by an application period for people interested in serving on the state-appointed board. Applications will soon open on TEA’s website with a deadline of Jan. 31.
Following the application period, TEA officials conduct interviews and ask selected candidates to go through governance training before presenting Morath with a list of recommended candidates. The education commissioner makes the final decision about who will serve on the board.
This story was originally published December 11, 2025 at 2:35 PM.
