Fort Worth ISD superintendent says teacher vacancies down to about 22 after more than 1,000 staff departures ahead of school year
Fort Worth Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Peter Licata used the catchphrase of the late radio legend Paul Harvey to quell fears about classrooms without teachers in his district when school starts in August.
"And now here is the rest of the story," he said.
Licata said the district, since January, has had 1,026 separations. He said his talent acquisition team has aggressively dropped that number to around 22. He said that the number will likely fluctuate.
"Those separations are divided into multiple categories: resignations, retirements, relocations," he said. "And there's some promotions in there as well."
Following a state takeover of FWISD, nerves are rattled, distrust is evident, and Licata said historically, part of those separations comes from those who choose to move on.
"There's no question about it. When there's an intervention from the state, if you do your historical research, you see that there is significant change over, and there's various reasons some folks are scared, some folks have an opportunity to go somewhere else," he said. "But more importantly, some folks are just not interested in following the set guidelines— and what we believe in our model, which has shown to increase student achievement. And that's okay. We just want the best person in front of our students."
Before he spoke with CBS News Texas about the vacancies and the new school year, many lined up for public comment, expressing concern.
"This is our final board meeting before school starts, and I have to be honest, I'm a little nervous," Trenace Dorsey-Hollins said.
Dorsey-Hollins is with Parent Shield Fort Worth. She said it was "No secret that many people are concerned about the massive teacher resignations since the state intervention."
Alexander Montalvo of The Catalyst Project said what the board managers were doing does not equate to excellence. He called it a failure.
"Over 800 in the last three months under y'all's watch while you've been on the clock. And you want to be in community to say you're proud of what you're doing in this district," he said.
Parent Sabrina Ball spoke up for the separated educators, too.
"You don't get to dismantle public education and then claim you're fighting for it. You don't get to create inequity and then wrap yourself in the language of civil rights," Ball said. "And you don't get to drain the pool and expect us to go along."
According to Licata, the district plans to hire more teachers than they need. He said no student would be without a teacher. Plus, the school leader said they've made it faster for teachers to get hired—if their paperwork is in order.
Classes start in FWISD on August 10.
