Fort Worth ISD addresses declining enrollment, budget cuts in city council meeting
FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth ISD is coping with budget constraints and declining enrollment.
The district is looking for qualified teachers while cutting some non-teaching positions.
For the past 13 years, the number of Fort Worth ISD students has been decreasing. However, a higher percentage of the district’s students are from disadvantaged communities and struggling families.
With colorful graphics and charts, Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Dr. Anjelica Ramsey at city hall gave a detailed briefing to city leaders on Tuesday.
"We continue to have an uptick in students who have the most needs," she said. "So fewer students, but students who are higher in free/reduced lunch and inching up. Pretty soon, we’ll be at the place of serving 9 out of every 10 students free and reduced lunch."
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On the academic front, the district is using a measuring system that compares reading and math levels to the national average. It shows improvements that Dr. Ramsey calls significant.
Several questions followed.
"When it comes to test scores, when does growth start becoming achievement?" asked Councilman Carlos Flores.
Dr. Ramsey referred to the rate at which students are recovering from the effects of the pandemic.
"For some levels, it was nine months, 10 months, even a year of growth. Reading levels in the school district are improving. That’s where we meet achievement," she said.
Last week, the district announced 133 cuts to non-teaching positions with budget constraints made more difficult by a lack of state funding.
But council members did find it encouraging that despite the dwindling number of students within the district, there are no schools currently slated for closure with the outlook that the student count could possibly increase in the years to come.
"Even if a school has low enrollment today, in four to five years, it may be much higher. It may double," Ramsey said. "We're not going to make quick decisions with short-sided data, not just for today but for the long run."
The superintendent encouraged city leaders to accomplish more toward affordable housing and for companies and corporations to pay fair living wages across the city. She said they are vital things to students having the best chance at a quality public school education.