Fort Worth schools are failing, but don’t take it out on students in bond election

If voters are looking for a way to grab the attention of Fort Worth ISD leaders, their moment may have arrived.

The school district wants approval for $1.5 billion in bonds for widespread construction projects. If voters have had enough of FWISD’s distressing academic record, leadership excuses about it and increasing demands for taxpayer money, saying “no” to the four propositions on the Nov. 2 ballot would send a clear message: not another dime until you fix what most Fort Worth leaders agree is the biggest impediment to our growth and development.

But here’s the problem: The nearly 80,000 children in Fort Worth ISD deserve better. Many are languishing in decrepit schools, with outdated equipment that makes it that much harder to learn and experience the extra-curricular activities that help provide the best education experience possible

The children have to come first. Voters should approve the bonds for middle school renovations, athletic facilities and fine arts improvements.

We know this seems contradictory. But this phase of bond construction would revamp each of the district’s middle schools, some of which are in frightening stages of disrepair. It would build modest stadiums around the sprawling district, making participation in sports easier for working families. And it would touch just about every campus with auditorium improvements and athletic field and equipment upgrades.

The district’s last bond proposals, in 2017, focused on revamping high schools. That work is paying off now, with modern facilities that promote cooperative learning and exposure to current technology. If the middle school program is as successful, it will make a difference for thousands of children, perhaps even helping some to stay in school.

We might have done it differently, focusing smaller propositions on the biggest needs rather than sweeping packages at each level of education, especially at a time of economic uncertainty. But the long-term plan is sound.

Proposition A, by far the largest of the bond requests at $1.2 billion, would cover the middle schools, along with construction of two elementary schools to replace outdated ones and a new elementary in Benbrook.

NEW SPORTS STADIUMS

Voters may look askance at the other requests: $98.3 million for fine arts facilities, $104.9 million for new stadiums and $76.2 million for on-campus recreational facilities. Rejecting them would also let district leaders know voters are paying attention to academic failures and demanding more.

But as Superintendent Kent Scribner says, the district’s athletes, musicians and theater performers know their facilities are substandard compared to other districts.

And to its credit, FWISD is not proposing lavish new football palaces like the ones in well-to-do suburbs such as Allen that have generated a backlash. The three new facilities would be small but modern and adaptable to several sports. Right now, too many families have to trek too far to Farrington Field or Clark Stadium. Placing new facilities around the district is a good call.

We’re disappointed, however, in the district’s backtracking on a plan to pay for the construction. Two years ago, when Scribner’s team laid out its plan to sell Farrington Field, the district’s headquarters and other excess property, they said the proceeds would fund the new stadiums without debt. The pandemic and the resistance to losing Farrington obviously disrupted the district’s grand vision, and now taxpayers must pay the price.

It’s a good time to borrow money, though, and inflation may be a long-term factor. So it’s better to get these projects going. And the district’s tax rate won’t increase as a result.

WHY CAN’T KIDS READ?

Governing a large urban district in which most families face steep economic disadvantages is not easy. Scribner and his team argue that their academic improvement plans were just starting to bear fruit when the pandemic delivered sweeping social, financial and health challenges.

No superintendent is a magician. Some of the blame falls on the district’s history of inequity, a problem Scribner has focused on. Parental involvement is a huge factor in educational success, and no official can solve the social issues plaguing so many families.

But Scribner, who began his seventh year at the helm Friday, presides over a district in which the majority of children cannot adequately read and are lagging badly in math. District officials seek to paint this as fallout from COVID-19, but the problems existed before the pandemic.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the “Nation’s Report Card,” found that the share of Fort Worth eighth -graders deemed proficient in reading and math actually dropped between 2017 and 2019, the most recent data available. Among fourth-graders, scores were stagnant; just 29 percent proficient in math and 19 percent in reading.

FWISD students are, by and large, not prepared for college or the workforce, and economic prospects — theirs and all of ours — suffer the cost. Enrollment is down, even as Fort Worth’s population booms. Families who can are voting with their feet.

Scribner told the Editorial Board that the district is trying to openly assess where student achievement stands, in part by insisting that nearly all children take state tests, even if that hurts the district’s scores in the short run. But he seems dismissive of some criticism, pointing to heated school board meetings about mask mandates and critical race theory.

We hear different, deeper concerns. Political candidates and business and civic leaders tell us constantly that FWISD is the biggest priority for Fort Worth to attract and retain talent. They know the school district isn’t generating the workforce needed for the future.

That’s a major justification for the bond package. Students facing so many challenges need optimum learning space, along with facilities where they can play, perform and learn the values that sports and other extracurricular activities provide.

So, with reservations, we recommend voters cast their ballots for what the children need.

They should also redouble efforts to hold the school board and administration accountable. If things don’t change soon, it’ll have to be new leaders cutting ribbons at all those middle schools in a few years.

Early voting begins Oct. 18 and runs through Oct. 29. Election Day is Nov. 2.