FWISD board says it prioritizes literacy. Time to put district’s money where its mouth is | Opinion
It’s encouraging to see Fort Worth schools finally prioritizing literacy. This is a long-awaited and crucial step. We appreciate the district’s recognition of literacy’s fundamental role in student success. However, acknowledging a priority is only the first step.
Lofty literacy goals are meaningless without a budget to back them up. We can’t expect to see a surge in reading comprehension or a decline in illiteracy rates if our financial priorities lie elsewhere.
For too long, the refrain from elected and appointed education leaders has been, “We need more state funding.” While external support is valuable, it cannot be a perpetual crutch. We must look inward, to our own local budgets, and ask ourselves: Are we truly investing in the future we claim to desire?
We cannot continue to operate under the illusion that good intentions alone will bridge the literacy gap. Without a clear alignment between our stated priorities and our budget allocations, we are simply perpetuating a system that fails our children. It’s time to put our money where our mouths are and invest in the cornerstone of a thriving society: literacy.
It is the role of a public school board to identify priorities and goals for student outcomes based on gaps identified and community input. Having heard their community on the need to prioritize literacy, Fort Worth ISD board members adopted associated student goals and a resolution to prioritize literacy. We are grateful that they listened and took action. However, their work is not complete. They must now ensure that district resources are aligned with the goals and priority they identified.
Education experts employed by the district must identify the programs, resources, and staffing needed to teach our children to read on grade level. It is our job as a community, and the job of the trustees we elect, to hold the administration accountable to the literacy results we demand. The first step in this accountability is for the superintendent to be transparent about the budgetary changes that have been made to get us there. Then, and only then, should the board approve the 2025-26 FWISD budget.
This budget alignment is urgent. We cannot fail our kids in this urgent literacy priority. Hard choices must be made now. While more funding from the Legislature and freeing up funds through school consolidations are needed, we cannot count on them or wait for them. Our trustees must demand resource alignment to our literacy priority now! If we fund literacy the same way we have in the past, we will have the same outcomes we’ve had in the past.
We call on the Fort Worth ISD administration to honor the promises made to our children, the promise of literacy as the district’s No. 1 priority, by engaging in a transparent process to develop a budget with concrete fiscal solutions for swift and measurable improvements in literacy. We call on the Fort Worth ISD Board of Education to insist on and approve only a budget that clearly supports their literacy resolution.
This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 5:29 AM.