Did FWISD find best possible superintendent? No one can say, and that’s not ideal | Opinion

We’d love to tell you with certainty that the Fort Worth school board chose the best possible candidate to lead the district by making interim superintendent Karen Molinar the lone finalist for the permanent job.

But we can’t. The board’s hiring process left too much to be desired, even though board members and district stakeholders are excited at the prospect of Molinar running the district.

The district passively took applications online for about 10 days. The board sought no outside help, a common and recommended step when hiring a CEO. Trustees never interviewed another candidate.

So, Fort Worth has to trust that the board that made the last such hire in 2022, only to part ways with her just two years later, nailed it this time around.

Board President Roxanne Martinez said she’s confident that’s the case. She described a process in which trustees examined a handful of candidates who had submitted thorough applications but found that none matched Molinar’s experience and leadership skill. The board voted unanimously Feb. 18 to name Molinar the finalist; under state law, it can formally give her the job three weeks after that.

“We took a good hard look at the ones who were qualified, and it became more clear in our minds that we had our lone finalist, our superintendent, with Dr. Molinar,” Martinez told the Editorial Board.

We’re not trying to argue that Molinar is a bad choice. She took over in a difficult situation and led confidently, using her nearly three decades of experience in FWISD to attack the district’s biggest problems, chiefly the crisis of literacy among most of its students. There are signs of hope in recent test scores and an improved sense of transparency and frankness about the district’s problems.

Molinar is well-liked by employees and parent representatives. Martinez praised her early work to establish better community engagement, from seeking more help from business and community organizations to emphasizing parent-teacher conferences. Molinar’s hiring provides a sense of stability and momentum after the messy departure of predecessor Angélica Ramsey, especially now that she’ll oversee the strategic plan the board recently approved.

But these hires are rare, or at least they should be. A district with so many problems — academic stagnation, declining enrollment, budgetary woes — could at least use some outside ideas. Hiring is never easy, but one of its side benefits is hearing from smart, engaged people who can look at your entrenched problems with a fresh perspective.

There’s a reason that the Texas Association of School Board recommends hiring an executive search firm. Yes, it costs money, but it’s an investment. Consider it a hedge against having to pay a third consecutive CEO to move on — Ramsey and predecessor Kent Scribner each walked away with more than half a million dollars for leaving the job early.

No one wanted a drawn-out process to hire a new superintendent. We’re half a year into a renewed focus on the district’s performance, sparked by Mayor Mattie Parker and a coalition of civic leaders publicly raising the alarm about the board’s direction, and urgency is still the order of the day. Martinez agreed that urgency was a factor.

“We really needed to make a solid hire and get on with the work,” she said. “The timing was just right.”

It’s possible that, between the large number of superintendent openings and the challenge of the job, few good candidates would have stuck their necks out. But you don’t know until you ask.

Molinar rose through the ranks in Fort Worth ISD, from classroom teacher to principal to administrator. She served in top positions under the two most recent superintendents. Should the board have considered whether Molinar represents a clean enough break with the troubled last decade? Martinez said she didn’t recall that being a factor, though she argued that Molinar brings a different perspective and leadership style than her previous bosses.

To Molinar’s credit, she got a strong start in her trial run. She understands what the priorities should be and has taken good initial steps to realign resources to bolster flagging academic performance.

The next complex problem is the closure of as many as two dozen schools. FWISD has capacity it no longer needs, after a decade of dropping enrollment. But closing campuses is a fraught political process that could easily anger board members, parents and employees. Ramsey’s initial attempts landed with a thud, and Molinar should be able to avoid some pitfalls because of her extensive knowledge of the district, its neighborhoods and the schools themselves.

That’s one of several things that made her a good candidate for a district in turmoil. But the best candidate? The district’s search didn’t establish that, so Molinar will have to do so herself.