By the end of the school year, Fort Worth ISD may be facing a teacher shortage.

Some teachers are thinking about leaving because of the state's takeover of the school district. Some are uncertain about what the future of the district looks like in comparison to Houston ISD, which was also previously taken over by the Texas Education Agency in June 2023.

A local teacher's association, United Educators Association, is helping some FWISD teachers find new jobs in surrounding districts: Arlington, Birdville, Castleberry, Lake Worth, Everman and Crowley.

"We've been getting a lot of calls," said Jason Stuart, with UEA. "Teachers are nervous. There's a lot of uncertainty. We had members who attended the TEA sessions. Not a lot of answers given there. A lot of a lot of the responses were, well, that will be a decision for the board of managers. We're hearing the board of managers won't be appointed until the spring. That's about the time teachers start planning for the next year."

According to the TEA, Houston ISD had 11,378 teachers in the 2023-2024 school year, just as the takeover was beginning. That number dropped drastically by nearly 800 teachers the very next school year, to 10,589.

Average teacher pay according to the TEA:

• Arlington ISD: $69,461
• Fort Worth ISD: $69,118
• Castleberry ISD: $67,825
• Everman ISD: $67,165
• Birdville ISD: $66,729
• Crowley ISD: $66,089
• Lake Worth ISD: $65,184

According to the TEA, Arlington ISD is at the top for average teacher pay, and Fort Worth ISD trails behind. Other than pay, teachers are looking to see if districts are a part of the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA), which is a Texas program that offers high-performing teachers boosts in pay.

What's the latest with FWISD?

Last month, a conservator, Chris Ruszkowski, was appointed as part of the state's takeover to oversee the district. He is to report back to the TEA on the improvements the district makes.

Next is the selection of the board of managers to replace the elected school board. The TEA reported nearly 300 people applied for the positions. Those appointments should be made sometime in the spring.

The TEA commissioner, Mike Morath, is also on a nationwide hunt for a superintendent, which could still be current superintendent Dr. Karen Molinar. She is reapplying for the position.

Below is a portion of CBS Texas's Lead Education Reporter Lacey Beasley's conversation with Stuart.

Beasley: Do you have a prediction for how many teachers could leave Fort Worth ISD?

Stuart: You know, I think that's impossible to say. Houston, it was almost a third last year. I don't know if we'll see that number this year. It may be some this year and then more next year.

Beasley: Say that replicates in Fort Worth ISD. They lose a third of teachers. How could that affect the district?

Stuart: If teachers leave, the other thing we've seen in Houston ISD is that students have left. One thing we've seen in Houston is that teachers are expected to follow an extremely rigid script, and it is timed, and people are coming into their classrooms with stopwatches, making sure they're exactly where they're supposed to be. They don't like to see democracy taken away from them.

Beasley: Are they taking a pay cut [by] going to other districts?

Stuart: Fort Worth ISD does do very well. They are at the top. It could be possible that teachers would be taking a slight decrease in salary. But we've seen surveys saying that while salary is very important, respect is also very important to teachers.