Superintendent Mark Ramirez into the foreseeable future as the of the 3,200-student district.
Now it鈥檚 official after Lake Worth ISD trustees accepted Ramirez鈥檚 resignation and approved staff layoffs during a special board meeting March 9. Ramirez鈥檚 last day is Friday, and trustees are expected to name an interim superintendent at their March 23 meeting.
鈥淭his is the most difficult vote I have cast in my 12 years as a board member,鈥� board President Tammy Thomas said before trustees approved Ramirez鈥檚 separation agreement. 鈥淵ou have established a solid foundation in Lake Worth ISD for academic improvement and growth.鈥�
District officials did not immediately detail how many jobs will be eliminated during a campus restructuring that is coming as .
The board approved the reduction in force tied to program changes at Marilyn Miller Language Academy, the struggling campus at the center of the state intervention.
Ramirez told the Fort Worth Report the move is part of a plan to restructure Miller through an Accelerating Campus Excellence, or ACE, model supported by a state grant.
Trustees unanimously approved identifying employment areas at Miller that will be subject to the cuts, including core content teachers across grade levels, special education, electives 鈥� such as physical education, art and music 鈥� as well as campus-based professional staff including assistant principals, a counselor and a nurse.
District leaders said the action does not automatically cut an employee. Affected teachers and staff will be evaluated against criteria administrators are developing and may be eligible to apply for open positions at Miller or elsewhere in the district.
Officials will meet individually with affected employees and determine whether they qualify to be rehired under the new campus structure. Those who do not secure another position could face nonrenewal of their contracts.
Conservator Andrew Kim said the to schools with persistent academic struggles.
鈥淭he main crux is to really recruit talented individuals, talented teachers 鈥� teachers who are expert in curriculum and expert in teaching 鈥� as well as the leadership that goes with that,鈥� Kim said.
The strategy is based on the model started in Dallas ISD under its former leader Mike Miles, now the state-appointed superintendent of Houston schools. Typically, ACE schools include higher pay for teachers, additional instructional coaching and planning time and an intensive academic focus for the turnaround campuses.
In Fort Worth ISD, which is undergoing its own state intervention, district leaders are , where teachers in core subjects can earn starting salaries of about $100,000 as the district tries to quickly raise student achievement at historically low-performing schools.
Lake Worth officials said their ACE plan at Miller is tied to a state grant that provides additional dollars for the district鈥檚 recruitment and restructuring efforts.
Administrators are determining what salary incentives could look like for teachers hired under the model, Ramirez said. The grant provides about $350,000 per year, he said, and part of that funding may be used to increase compensation for teachers who qualify to work at the redesigned campus.
Lake Worth ISD employs roughly 556 staff members, including 214 teachers and 65 aides, according to state staffing data. The district operates on a balanced general fund budget of about $40 million, with more than half of that spending tied to classroom instruction.
The financial strain of the takeover has been a concern for district leaders. During a January community meeting with Texas Education Agency officials, trustee Mary Wilson Coker asked whether the district would be responsible for paying the costs associated with the intervention 鈥� including the conservator overseeing Lake Worth schools, Ramirez鈥檚 expected separation agreement and the salary of the next superintendent.
鈥淚f the state鈥檚 going to take over, it would be nice if they could help offset some of the costs of them taking over,鈥� Coker said.
Agency officials at the meeting confirmed the district would bear those expenses.
Ramirez鈥檚 exit had been expected since December when Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath ordered the state intervention. The school leader, hired in May, once the state installs new leadership 鈥� a decision by Morath that Ramirez said he was disappointed by.
Under the intervention, Morath will appoint a new superintendent and a board of managers to govern the district, replacing the authority of Lake Worth鈥檚 locally elected trustees.
Ramirez came to the district from Dallas ISD after longtime superintendent Rose Mary Neshyba retired from Lake Worth. During his brief tenure, he focused heavily on classroom instruction with administrators as well as instructional coaches where they monitored lessons. School leaders said of academic improvement.
Trustees traveled to Austin in December, .
Ultimately, the commissioner said the district鈥檚 long history of low academic performance required a complete leadership reset, even as he acknowledged Ramirez had begun making changes.
鈥淚f they had taken steps to bring Dr. Ramirez in five years ago, I highly doubt we鈥檇 be having this conversation,鈥� Morath said.
Early data presented to trustees suggested some improvement. Beginning-of-year and middle-of-year testing and more reaching grade-level expectations compared with the previous year, district officials said. Ramirez also and pushed campuses to use common lesson structures across the district.
He drew strong support from teachers and parents who questioned the state鈥檚 decision to remove him while such changes were still taking hold.
鈥淔or the first time in many years, we have clear, actionable steps, aligned strategies and procedures that give our staff a structured path toward improvement,鈥� Effie Morris S.T.E.A.M. Academy teacher Katrina Lemond said.
Still, Morath said to address longstanding academic challenges.
The state takeover was 鈥� a threshold in Texas law that requires the commissioner to either close the campus or replace district leadership.
Earlier this year, Morath to oversee district operations and governance while Morath assembles new leadership for the district that stretches along the northwest border of Fort Worth.
Morath is expected to name managers and a new superintendent this spring.
Prior to his resignation, Ramirez said he plans to assist with the leadership transition while the district continues implementing its academic turnaround efforts.
鈥淚 worry about the decisions I can make,鈥� Ramirez previously told the Fort Worth Report. 鈥淲e鈥檒l keep showing the growth and moving Lake Worth to where we know it can be.鈥�
After Monday鈥檚 vote, Ramirez said he felt both emotional and proud.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a sense of accomplishment,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e on the road to increasing student achievement. We built positive relationships.鈥�
He will leave Lake Worth to become chief of schools in El Paso ISD under that district鈥檚 new Superintendent Brian Lusk, he told the Report. Ramirez and Lusk worked together in Dallas ISD from 2016 to 2025.
Ramirez believes Lake Worth would have benefited from continuity in leadership during the turnaround. But his final message to the community was to keep the focus on students.
鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to focus on the negative, especially in the next couple of weeks,鈥� Ramirez said. 鈥淭he next couple of weeks are gonna be challenging, but we have a lot to look forward to.鈥�
After his final report to trustees, the room rose for a standing ovation that lasted about 10 seconds 鈥� a show of support that mirrored the emotion on the dais, as Thomas and trustee Cindy Burt wiped tears from their red eyes.
Burt put words to what many in the room appeared to feel.
鈥淵ou can see it in our faces. You鈥檝e made us better,鈥� Burt said, sniffling lightly. 鈥淵es, it was just a short term 鈥� but as much as I wanna kick and scream and plead, 鈥楧on鈥檛 do this,鈥� it鈥檚 gonna have to be done. So we鈥檒l pull up our bootstraps and cowboy up, and let鈥檚 rock and roll.鈥�
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.orgor .
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy .
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