The Fort Worth ISD school board voted 7-1 Tuesday night to appeal the state's takeover of the district. 

The district was eligible for state intervention because one of its campuses, The Leadership Academy at Forest Oak 6th Grade, received its fifth consecutive "unacceptable" academic rating for the 2022–2023 school year. FWISD has since closed the campus. 

TEA Commissioner Mike Morath announced on Oct. 23 that the agency is taking over Fort Worth ISD and will replace its locally elected board of trustees with appointed managers. 

Morath said FWISD Superintendent Karen Molinar will stay in her job for now but will have to reapply for the position. He is on a nationwide hunt to find a new leader over the second-largest public school district in North Texas. 

In a statement, FWISD School Board President Roxanne Martinez said the board will continue focusing on student academic excellence by ensuring their decisions are aligned with improved outcomes for students.

"Tonight, the Board authorized our legal counsel to file a petition for review and request a referral to the State Office of Administrative Hearings regarding the Commissioner's decision to appoint a conservator and a Board of Managers for Fort Worth ISD," Martinez said. "We will rely on our legal counsel to present the arguments, but generally, the Board believes there are important factual and legal considerations that merit further review. We believe these factors could allow the Commissioner to continue supporting the students and staff of Fort Worth ISD without implementing a Board of Managers."

The TEA on Nov. 6 appointed a conservator for FWISD and said it will go ahead with appointing a board of managers in the state's takeover of the district.

This comes after an informal review and a special meeting on Oct. 28 during which the board of trustees decided not to take any action regarding the state's takeover of the district, but voted unanimously not to change Molinar's contract, which goes until June 2028. 

The appointed conservator, Christopher Ruszkowski, will oversee and support FWISD's improvement efforts and report on the district's progress, effective immediately.   

The TEA will continue with the process of taking applications from interested candidates for the board of managers until Friday.

The TEA now has 90-120 days to review and respond to the appeal.