Overview
- Education Commissioner Mike Morath announced plans to replace each district’s elected board with a state-appointed board of managers, install a conservator, and name new superintendents, with applications to be solicited from local residents.
- The actions were triggered by five straight failing grades at specific campuses: Marilyn Miller Language Academy in Lake Worth; Connally Elementary and Connally Junior High; and ML King Middle and Fehl-Price Elementary in Beaumont.
- Recent performance data cited by the TEA show roughly 22% of Lake Worth students, 24% in Connally, and 30% in Beaumont meeting grade-level expectations across subjects.
- Districts can argue their cases in informal hearings later in December and, if the decisions stand, file formal appeals with the State Office of Administrative Hearings; transitions typically take several months.
- State interventions have expanded under a 2015 law, with earlier cases including Houston and Fort Worth; reporting notes this brings TEA takeovers to four this year and five overall, as debates continue over gains versus community disruption.