Who’s right for southeast/far east Fort Worth school board seat? Our recommendation | Opinion
Voters in Fort Worth ISD’s District 3 have three good options for school board on the May ballot. But one has a clear edge in experience — Quinton “Q” Phillips, the incumbent trustee, is well-positioned for a second term.
Phillips’ time as a trustee and his deep involvement in schools in the district, which runs from southeast Fort Worth to its far eastern edge, will come in handy with what the next board will face. Thanks to shrinking enrollment, budget cuts and school closures are coming. These are fraught processes, and communities need a strong representative who can also compromise.
District 3 also needs an engaged advocate for Jacquet Middle School, which FWISD recently pulled out of an operations agreement with a charter school organization. The school remains at the bottom of ratings and needs a trustee watching to ensure it gets the resources and attention it needs.
The board’s internal operations have improved during Phillips’ tenure, in which he has risen as an officer. Continuity is crucial, too, for support of new Superintendent Angélica Ramsey’s plans to reorganize district operations and focus on key academic areas.
Phillips, 41, is an adjunct professor of criminal justice at TCU and worked as a juvenile probation officer. He has extensive knowledge of how to help underprivileged youth.
His opponents show potential as candidates. Mar’Tayshia James, 27, is a restorative justice specialist who pledged in our interview to focus on child literacy. She offered an intriguing idea for an advisory panel to represent District 3 Black and Hispanic parents.
Valeria Nevarez, a 22-year-old property manager, has been a recent regular at school board meetings, speaking on issues such as sex education. In our candidate interview, she focused heavily on boosting parental involvement in district decisions. Questions have been raised about whether she has properly established residency in the district to run.
The next trustee will serve a four-year, unpaid term. Early voting begins April 24 and ends May 2. Election Day is May 6. If no candidate receives an outright majority, a runoff between the top two finishers will be scheduled.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHey, who is behind these endorsements?
Members of the Editorial Board, which serves as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s institutional voice, decide candidates and positions to recommend to voters. The members of the board are: Cynthia M. Allen, columnist; Steve Coffman, editor and president; Bud Kennedy, columnist; Ryan J. Rusak, opinion editor; and Nicole Russell, opinion writer.
Members of our Community Advisory Board may also participate in candidate interviews and offer their views, but they do not vote on which candidate to recommend.
Read more by clicking the arrow in the upper right.
How does the process work?
The Editorial Board interviews candidates, asking about positions on issues, experience and qualifications, and how they would approach holding the office for which they are running. Board members do additional research on candidates’ backgrounds and the issues at hand. After that, members discuss the candidates and generally aim to arrive at a consensus, though not necessarily unanimity. All members contribute observations and ideas, so the resulting editorials represent the board’s view, not a particular writer.
How do partisanship and ideology factor in?
We’re not tied to one party or the other, and our positions on issues range across the ideological spectrum. We tend to prefer candidates who align with our previously stated positions, but qualifications, temperament and experience are important, too.
This story was originally published April 8, 2023 at 5:33 AM.