Fort Worth ISD dedicated $22.7M to literacy efforts. Here’s what a school finance expert thinks

As the state weighs a potential takeover, Fort Worth ISD is moving quickly to show it can improve outcomes on its own, district officials said.

At the center of its strategy: a $22.7 million restructuring plan to overhaul how it supports instruction, phase out more than 160 positions and refocus resources on reading and math. One school finance expert called it bold, intentional and structured. 

“This is a more deliberate strategy to shrink while improving,” said Marguerite Roza, director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University. “It’s about spending smarter and holding on to your best talent.”

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath will be watching.

In a May 5 letter, he said state law requires him to act after a now-closed campus failed to meet academic standards for five consecutive years. Fort Worth ISD is appealing. The district points to this strategy as a way to turn around stagnating student performance.

District aims to get top teachers back to the classroom

Fort Worth ISD’s plan stands out nationally, Roza said. 

Instead of layering in more support roles or rolling over legacy staffing year after year — a common approach in large, urban districts — the district is collapsing its management structure and reallocating funding toward teaching, she said.

At the heart of the shift is a new demonstration teacher position. These educators will split time between modeling instruction for colleagues and teaching students directly in state-tested subjects. 

The redesign prioritizes student achievement and allows the district to measure what’s working, Superintendent Karen Molinar said in a March presentation to the board.

“We are going to be laser-focused on literacy and math support for our students,” Molinar said. “With that, you have to reallocate the funds to make sure it’s happening for our students.”

The district has persistent challenges. Only 35% of students read on grade level. For Algebra I, a key college readiness metric, the number drops to 19%.

The new roles will replace instructional coaches and deans of instruction at every campus. And those staff members will be eligible for performance-based pay through the state’s Teacher Incentive Allotment, which rewards teachers based on student growth.

Roza called the strategy a response to a long-standing national issue. Districts will promote strong teachers into support roles that don’t directly serve students, then fail to see gains.

“In some cases, kids were worse off,” she said. “They had a specialist in the building, sure. But their teacher wasn’t as strong.”

Fort Worth ISD’s shift reflects a growing realization, she said: Top-performing teachers belong in classrooms.

Still, Roza cautioned that sustainability depends on how compensation is structured.

“Teachers shouldn’t feel like one weird group of students means their salary tanks,” she said. “If it’s based on a few years of consistent growth, it can keep the right people motivated and stable.”

Alongside the new demonstration roles, Fort Worth ISD is hiring 34 acceleration teachers who will offer small-group support in core subjects. They’ll be eligible for stipends of up to $10,000 based on student outcomes. 

Under pressure from state, FWISD looks to spend smarter

But Morath’s warning still looms. His letter cited data showing 32% of third graders reading on grade level and 31% meeting math benchmarks across the district. Plus, 77 campuses earned D or F ratings in the most recent state release.

That pressure, along with Fort Worth ISD’s declining enrollment and potential school closures, adds urgency to the district’s redesign. 

“It’s about spending smarter where over the long term, you have fewer but higher-quality employees,” Roza said. “Rather than cutting randomly, you emphasize quality.”

To know what’s working, Roza recommends tracking student outcomes by school, monitoring attendance as a proxy for student engagement and watching teacher attrition.

She added that while a few districts, like Washington, D.C., have adopted similar models, most large systems avoid dramatic budget shifts.

“Too many districts just roll over their budgets from year to year,” she said. “This is a little bit bolder and more intentional.”

For her, that’s key.

After all, Morath will be paying attention. 

“What I appreciate is the deliberate connection to what students need and how the system can respond to that,” she said. “Hopefully it’s still a win for employees. But student outcomes seem first and foremost in the strategy.”

Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected] or @matthewsgroi1. 

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

Related

Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.