The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has upheld its decision to appoint a Board of Managers and a conservator to oversee the Fort Worth school district.
WFAA-TV reports that Christopher Ruszkowski has been appointed conservator to oversee and support immediate efforts to improve the district.
Ruszkowski has been a teacher and served as New Mexico's Secretary of Education from 2017 to 2019.
Fort Worth Superintendent Karen Molinar said in a letter on the district's website that TEA will begin looking for interested citizens to serve on a state-appointed Board of Managers under the guidance of TEA.
Selected applicants will report to Commissioner Mike Morath and are required to participate in rigorous governance training, Molinar says.
Molinar also said TEA will appoint a superintendent after reviewing prospective superintendent candidates, and she intends to be one of the candidates.
TEA decided last month to take over Fort Worth ISD.
TEA Commissioner Mike Morath was required to take action after one of the district's campuses received its fifth consecutive unacceptable academic accountability rating following the 2022-23 school year. The district later closed the failing school, but that does not affect Morath's obligation to intervene, he said in a letter.
