Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Angélica Ramsey claims the school board violated her contract.
According to an email obtained by the Fort Worth Report, Ramsey told school board members in February that they had breached her contract during her evaluation in January, reported KERA.
Ramsey emailed the board on February 9, claiming they did not evaluate her performance based on contractually agreed-upon goals. Instead, the superintendent alleged, the board looked at the 2023-2024 school year academic data as a basis for evaluation.
“In addition, the board informed me that I would be evaluated again in five to six months (June or July) and that I would have new goals to meet. I have tried to be agreeable and moved forward based on the board’s request even though the board breached my contract in doing so,” Ramsey wrote, per KERA.
Ramsey’s goals were not public information before the July 16 evaluation when the Fort Worth Report reported that Ramsey was evaluated on six academic goals, which included community relations, finance, leadership, and staff relationships.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Fort Worth ISD gave Ramsey a $15,000 bonus. The board had voted 5-4 to approve an undisclosed action during its July 16 meeting. The following day, it announced that a majority voted to award Ramsey the bonus.
Residents who spoke during the public comment portion of that meeting were critical of Ramsey’s performance.
“You’ve failed the district, the community, and 75,000 students, and especially the African American students who you neglected through a lack of proper funding, lack of adequate programs, and appropriate focus,” said Estella Williams, president of the NAACP of Fort Worth-Tarrant County, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
“Dr. Ramsey is completely unqualified for the job of superintendent in Fort Worth ISD or any district for that matter. She did not even come to Fort Worth with a proven track record. In Midland, their scores only declined under her. The board never should have hired her. They definitely did not listen to the wants of the people,” Fort Worth resident Hollie Plemons told DX.
Others have supported Ramsey’s leadership.
“This district is a large ship, and it was run aground. And Dr. Ramsey has come in, and she’s trying to turn this ship around and get it sailing back,” Fort Worth resident Janie Ginn said, per the Star-Telegram.
“The other thing is, she’s not the only person responsible for what happens with our students’ scores. She’s tried to bring in more parents because we need more parents involved with their own children, supporting them in their education,” Ginn added.
Fort Worth ISD has been struggling with academics for years. The district saw just 32% of its students score at grade level on the STAAR exam during the 2021-2022 school year, according to the latest Texas Education Agency accountability report. This is worse than Dallas ISD, which saw only 41% of students score at grade level on the STAAR exam that school year. The state average was 48% that term.
The Dallas Express reached out to Ramsey and the Fort Worth ISD school board president, Trustee Camille Rodriguez, but did not receive a response by publication.