Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Angélica Ramsey received a three-year extension on her contract after only assuming the position last September.
The district’s school board voted unanimously — with one abstention — to extend her contract until the summer of 2026 during its meeting on July 25.
“I’m thankful for the board’s confidence to continue the work we’ve started and our collective commitment to increase student performance, provide a positive school climate and work in partnership with our community in service of children,” Ramsey said in a statement, according to the Fort Worth Report.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, a significant decrease in student enrollment of roughly 18% over the last six years at Forth Worth ISD contributed to an $80 million deficit.
The district has struggled with poor student achievement outcomes. Only 32% of its students scored at grade level on their STAAR exams during the 2021-2022 school year, and only 85.7% of its graduating seniors completed high school on time.
Nearby Dallas ISD has seen similar troubling results, with 41% of students scoring at grade level on STAAR exams that school year and almost 20% of the district’s Class of 2022 failing to earn a diploma in four years, despite the work of Dallas ISD’s talented and dedicated educators.
To help offset Fort Worth ISD’s looming budgetary deficit, Ramsey submitted a restructuring plan that included multiple administrative cuts and a reshuffling of organizational goals, as covered by The Dallas Express.
In May, 111 district employees — including some high-level administrators — were asked to either resign, retire, or resign and reapply to an available position at the district as part of a cost-saving measure. Only five of the employees chose to reapply for another position at the district.
Now that the district has grown leaner by about $3 million, Camille Rodriguez — the district’s school board president — explained that the board’s sights are set on boosting student achievement outcomes.
“We know we’ve had some issues in the past, and we have acknowledged them and we’re ready to move forward,” Rodriguez said, according to the Fort Worth Report. “I’m sure there’ll be some issues in the future, there always is with a district this size, but we’re not going to hide and we’re going to take ownership and [sic] everything we do.”
Rodriguez added that the board thinks Ramsey is the right person to bring Fort Worth ISD back on track.
“She’s very open, and we discussed this last night, how transparent she is, and the board is aware of everything that’s going on in the district,” Rodriguez claimed. “We just wanted to show her we’re confident in her and we are excited about the way this district is heading.”
Only one school board member, Kevin Lynch, abstained from the recent vote to extend Ramsey’s contract. He reportedly provided no explanation for his lack of a vote.
While Ramsey’s salary of $335,000 a year has been left unchanged, it will be reevaluated by the school board later in the term.
