Fort Worth ISD Board approves $15,000 retirement deposit for superintendent amid public criticism
FORT WORTH — Fort Worth Independent School District's Board of Education narrowly approved a new deposit for Superintendent Dr. Angelica Ramsey's retirement account at a special meeting held Tuesday night to evaluate her performance and current contract.
The vote happened after a five-hour closed session for the scheduled evaluation, which is required annually by law.
Five board members voted for the contract modification (Tobi Jackson, Quinton Phillips, Anael Luebanos, Kevin Lynch, Roxanne Martinez) and four voted against it (Wallace Bridges, Dr. Camille Rodriguez, and Anne Darr).
That vote was to give Ramsey $15,000 for her retirement account.
The district released this statement from the school board:
"This deposit is based on the Superintendent meeting her Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as outlined in her contract. This decision underscores our commitment to supporting Dr. Ramsey's leadership and her ongoing efforts to guide the district towards achieving its goals. We believe this contract modification aligns with our strategic priorities and serves the best interests of the Fort Worth ISD community."
CBS News Texas reached out to every school board member multiple times Wednesday to ask about their vote and whether they could have taken any other type of action on the superintendent's contract. None responded to our inquiries.
Additional questions to the FWISD communications team were also left unanswered.
At Tuesday's meeting, the majority of speakers during public comment criticized Ramsey's effectiveness as the district's leader.
"Under Dr. Ramsey's leadership, it's been proven that children are not the center and retaining educators are not priorities," said Amanda Inay, a former FWISD teacher and former District Teacher of the Year. "She continues to hire administration who is publicly known to model and cultivate toxic culture."
Ramsey has been in this role since September 2022.
"Two years later, there's no district education improvement plan to date," said Dr. Michael Bell, a longtime Fort Worth activist and organizer, during public comment. "There's no strategic plan that was promised by Dr. Ramsey in April 2024."
Her annual evaluation comes at a time when the district has been under scrutiny for state test scores, budget issues that included layoffs earlier this year, and one school consolidation ahead of a report expected later this year about the future of the district's school facilities.
At Ramsey's evaluation last year, the board approved extending her three-year contract by another year, which means it's currently set to expire in 2026.
CBS News Texas reached out to the superintendent's office for comment but was referred to the district's communications team.
