‘We can’t waste a minute’: Why Fort Worth’s top business execs back mayor’s push on schools

Some of Fort Worth’s most prominent business leaders are supporting Mayor Mattie Parker’s push to improve public schools, calling it an urgent issue critical to the region’s corporate competitiveness.

Parker urged Fort Worth ISD board members to substantially improve test scores and academics in a letter to district leaders on Tuesday. Forty-five people, including prominent members of the business community and city officials, co-signed the letter.

State lawmakers have also expressed support for Parker’s letter since its release.

Fort Worth ISD ranks 22nd of Texas’ 24 public school districts with similar populations serving 20,000 students or more. Results from state tests administered last spring showed only 33% of Fort Worth ISD third graders were reading at grade level . Those scores placed Fort Worth ISD behind Dallas ISD and Houston ISD , districts that have improved once subpar performance scores.

School quality is an important part of conversations local business leaders have with companies considering moving to Fort Worth.

Mike Berry, the president of AllianceTexas developer Hillwood, said strength of labor and talent pipelines have surpassed cost of relocation as a primary concern for companies considering moving to north Texas. Those pipelines start with K-12 education.

“We have got to be very, very intentional about continuing to improve our public education system, because that’s sort of the banner, that’s sort of the testament of where a community stands in terms of its priorities and in the attention it places on growing a talented, highly educated workforce for the future,” Berry said.

Berry said when discussing schools with companies, he focuses on the entire region, not just Fort Worth ISD. Some Tarrant County districts, including Carroll and Keller, have significantly better standardized testing results than Fort Worth. Still, he believes having a strong urban school district is important for both students and attracting new business.

“We’re able to explain to companies that there are a lot of quality public school systems in the region, and that helps because those numbers are better, but Fort Worth is the flagship, it’s the flagship city,” Berry said. “People look there first, and they look to the city to be sort of in the lead position.”

Tom Harris, executive vice president of Hillwood, also co-signed Parker’s letter. He is chairman of the mayor’s council on education and workforce development and said the business community’s concerns about Fort Worth ISD aren’t new.

Harris said he knows the public criticism can be hard for the school board to hear, but it’s a necessary step towards improving students’ education.

“We’ve got to stop worrying about hurting each other’s feelings, and we’ve got to come together to figure out a way over time, and it will take years, not days, not weeks, not months, to get the academic performance for these kids where it belongs,” Harris told the Star-Telegram.

The quality of school districts is widely viewed as an important part of economic development . Companies are more likely to relocate to cities where schools support the development of a strong future workforce, and where their employees’ children will get top-notch education.

Other co-signers on Parker’s letter include the heads of Fort Worth’s Black and Hispanic chambers, the president of United Way of Tarrant County, the dean of Texas A&M University School of Law, an executive at the Amon G. Carter Foundation, and former mayors Kenneth Bar and Mike Moncrief.

Robert Allen, CEO of the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership, was not among the signers, but he said he supports the mayor’s effort.

“At the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership, we are in the business of bringing businesses to Fort Worth,” Allen said in a statement. “And nothing is more important in recruiting companies than education. I stand with Mayor Parker and our business community. To build the economy of tomorrow, we must have the best schools today. Our future demands it. Our kids deserve it.”

Steve Montgomery, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Chamber, said the strength of Fort Worth’s schools is important to the city’s ability to compete for jobs. He also co-signed Parker’s letter.

Montgomery described the letter as the first step of a long-term initiative to make sure students get a quality education. Though he acknowledged that change will take time, he said now is the time to get started.

“How can we shortchange our young people? I mean, we can’t waste a minute,” Montgomery said.