After bond vote, FWISD has plenty of money. Now, it must commit to improved learning
Gone are the days of school districts’ bond issues passing by massive majorities.
Fort Worth ISD voters are clearly not pleased with the district’s failure to educate our students as demonstrated by their miniscule approval — a final tally of 57 votes — of $1.2 billion to renovate aged middle schools and rejection of $300 million for new stadiums and performance halls.
Now, it’s up to our school board and superintendent to deliver with the resources they have. And trustees shouldn’t feel too blue about not getting all the money they wanted.
Along with the $1.2 billion just approved, FWISD leadership has increased revenue by $1 billion from the 2017 penny swap election, the 2017 bond election, the 2020 tax increase election, and hundreds of millions from the federal government in COVID relief. That’s more than $2.2 billion in additional money from the taxpayers in just four years.
No government in the history of the world has ever considered itself fully funded; there’s always someone wanting more. But taxpayers have granted billions to FWISD, and it’s time district leadership delivers on its mission of teaching reading and math.
You’ve seen the academic report cards showing only 25% of 3rd graders passing reading, only 47% of students passing Algebra 1. The district is dead last among the state’s 20 largest ISDs with a C grade, while Dallas and Houston earned high Bs the last time state officials graded schools.
Families have noticed and are voting “no confidence” with their feet. Over 12,000 students have fled the district since 2016, a 14% drop in enrollment. The situation is dire for our students and our city.
FWISD is funded. No more excuses. No more distractions. It’s time to focus on student academic achievement.
We’re here to help. Focus on Students supports qualified school board members and candidates who will establish a culture of high expectations, accountability, transparency, and professional ethics . Our students need leadership, and leaders need goals.
To help get our students on the right track we propose a “Contract with FWISD Students” for district leaders and the community. It would set the following goals for Fort Worth schools:
Reading at or above state average.
Math at or above state average.
No F Schools by 2024.
No D schools by 2025.
B+ district by 2026.
Instructors teaching in their core area.
Daily attendance at or above state average.
Establishment of key performance indicators to be updated and read at all school board meetings and board committee meetings.
The vision includes short-term goals achievable in the next year and long-term aspirations that will take a few years. Regrettably, many plans like this one are adopted only to be shelved and forgotten. To keep the district on track we propose that a dashboard of key performance indicators be maintained, updated and read aloud publicly at every meeting of the school board and its various committees.
We ask Superintendent Kent Scribner to publicly adopt this contract because frankly, it’s his job. None of these goals are disagreeable, and all of them are doable. If he chooses not to accept this vision for our student,s we ask the school board to find a superintendent who will.
Some folks say FWISD is beyond repair. Others find excuses or blame forces outside district control.
We disagree and offer the example of every other large urban school district in Texas as proof that reading scores can improve, that decline is not destiny, and that the children of Fort Worth can have access to the quality education FWISD is charged with providing.
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 6:04 AM.