Fort Worth ISD’s layoffs are affecting the Division of Technology and three other groups, according to a school board-approved resolution released to the Fort Worth Report.
The resolution details the positions that were eliminated this week following the school board’s OK. District officials initially declined to release the resolution.
The cut positions are:
- Division of Technology – assistant superintendent, educational technology
- Division of Technology – director, IT project management
- Division of Technology – coordinator, IT project management
- Division of Technology – IT specialist, project management
- Assessment data analysts
- Freshman success coaches
- Leadership Academy Network instructional specialists
The cuts are part of Superintendent Angélica Ramsey’s larger restructuring of the district. The resolution states Ramsey is reorganizing the Division of Technology and other academic divisions and positions. Officials have not said how much money will be saved.
“The program change is part of the ongoing efforts to address the decrease in student enrollment, improve efficiency and reallocate resources to positively impact students,” the resolution states.
The school board and Ramsey called for the cuts as the district faces an almost $44 million deficit for the 2024-25 school year.
Most of the layoffs are a result of the expiration of the district’s $261.6 million in federal pandemic relief dollars, Ramsey previously said. The funds were the third round of relief dollars that the federal government issued over a three-year period.
The latest federal dollars funded 379 positions, among other initiatives. The funds expire Sept. 30.
Declining enrollment is a major driver behind Fort Worth ISD’s budget crunch.
Since 2016, Fort Worth ISD has lost nearly 1 in 5 students. That loss translated into the district seeing its state funding drop by $123 million since 2019.
During fall 2023, 70,675 students were enrolled. The district had 71,978 students in fall 2022.
Since 2017, Fort Worth ISD has lost an average of 2,436 students per year.
School board President Camille Rodriguez and the district superintendent blamed the Texas Legislature for the district’s financial issues. Lawmakers did not increase public education funding in 2023.
Jacob Sanchez is an enterprise journalist for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or via @_jacob_sanchez. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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