FWISD is living in ‘Groundhog Day.’ Engaged voters are the way out of the doom cycle | Opinion

Another day and another report outlining Fort Worth Independent School District’s systemic failures has come and gone.

Another Fort Worth school superintendent has come and gone .

If the district has to select a mascot, it might consider the groundhog because, as in the classic Bill Murray movie, here we go again .

Only a third of FWISD students are reading at grade level.

Math is similarly deficient.

Campuses are hemorrhaging students , who are seeking hope of a solid education anywhere else.

The result is a loss of more than 17,000 girls and boys from the district’s schools since the 2016-17 school year.

It’s easy to lay blame.

Frankly, the district was lousy before COVID and remains lousy after COVID.

The district has been lousy across the tenures of multiple superintendents. They are not the only cause.

The district remains lousy even as schools in Dallas and Houston — cities of comparable size and makeup — improve.

Who or what then is to blame?

Fort Worth ISD board members are responsible for providing a quality education to the girls and boys of our city.

Trustees are charged with managing a $1 billion annual budget, setting aggressive and achievable goals, and holding their one direct report — the superintendent — accountable for meeting these goals.

But while all FWISD board members are well-intentioned, too few have the knowledge, skills and discipline truly needed for the job.

A successful board member should represent the entire district, not just their neighborhood.

He or she should have experience with complex financial issues.

He or she should demonstrate skill in collaborating with competing individuals to achieve a common goal.

And they must have the discipline to follow through on decisions while noisy interest groups attempt to exert their will on the district.

All too often a candidate for school board runs for election because they “love students,” they “support teachers” or they “want schools to improve.”

Everyone shares these beliefs (or they should), but these sentiments are merely platitudes unless they are coupled with competence: prioritizing limited dollars, holding adults accountable, refraining from jealous behavior, and knowing the difference between long-term strategy and day-to-day management.

So where does this leave us, the voters?

We are responsible for electing a board that’s equipped to hire a superintendent to lead our teachers in educating the girls and boys of Fort Worth.

Unless and until more voters engage in our school district and elect qualified school board members, it’s naive to expect anything other than the “Groundhog Day” that is life in our district.

If you live in the district’s boundaries, vote for qualified candidates.

If they don’t present themselves, find them. Recruit them. Support them.

Perhaps you are a future school board member. Perhaps you are not. But ask yourself, do I know someone who may be qualified? Talk with them about it.

Talk with other successful people you know about it.

Overcome the stupidity of “unless you have kids in the district, you need to keep your mouth shut.”

The stakes are our children, and we are losing them through the malpractice of our district, its leaders, and more acutely, our own indifference.

I remain hopeful. In the film, the main character comes to terms with his faults and escapes the doom loop all in under two hours.

Superintendent Murray — anyone know his agent’s phone number?

John Murrin Pritchett Sr. is a native Fort Worthian and a 29-year veteran in government and public policy.

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