Fort Worth ISD Progress Report Introduction
In May 2001, Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn released the results of the Texas School Performance Review (TSPR) of the Fort Worth Independent School District. Based upon more than seven months of work, this report identified 136 recommendations that could, if fully implemented, result in net savings of $13.4 million over the next five years. During June 2002 and again in December 2002, TSPR staff returned to assess the district's progress in implementing the report recommendations.
Improving the Texas School Performance Review
Comptroller Strayhorn, who took office in January 1999, consulted school district officials, parents and teachers from across Texas and carefully examined past reviews and progress reports in an effort to make the Texas School Performance Review (TSPR) more valuable, even vital, to the state's more than 1,000 school districts. With the perspective of having served as a teacher, and later a school board president, the Comptroller has vowed to steer TSPR toward being more accountable to local school districts and the communities they represent.
Comptroller Strayhorn began by establishing new criteria for selecting school districts for future reviews. Priority is now given to districts judged poor performing academically or financially, and to hands-on reviews that will benefit the greatest number of students.
Recognizing that only about 51 cents of every education dollar is spent on instruction, Comptroller Strayhorn's goal is to drive more of every education dollar directly into the classroom. In addition, no longer are school districts' best practices and exemplary models left buried inside individual TSPR reports. Instead, Comptroller Strayhorn ordered best practices and exemplary programs to be shared quickly and systematically among all the state's school districts and with anyone who requests such information. There is no reason for a district that has solved a problem well to keep the solution to itself. Comptroller Strayhorn has directed TSPR to serve as an active clearinghouse of the best and brightest ideas in Texas public education. Best practices identified in the original review will be included in the Comptroller's best practices database, A+ Ideas for Managing Schools (AIMS), which is accessible on the Web at http://www. www.aimsdatabase.org .
Under Comptroller Strayhorn's approach, the TSPR team and consultants work with districts to:
- ensure students and teachers receive the support and resources necessary to succeed;
- identify innovative ways to address core management challenges;
- ensure administrative activities are performed efficiently, without duplication and in a manner that spurs education;
- develop strategies to ensure the districts' processes and programs are continuously assessed and improved;
- understand the links among the districts' functional areas and determine ways to provide a seamless system of services;
- challenge any process, procedure, program or policy that impedes instruction and recommend ways to reduce or eliminate obstacles; and
- put goods and services to the "Yellow Pages test"-government should do no job if there is a business in the Yellow Pages that can do that job better and at a lower cost.
Finally, Comptroller Strayhorn has opened her door to Texans who share her optimism about TSPR's potential. Suggestions to improve school reviews are welcome at any time. The Comptroller is a staunch believer in public education and public accountability.
Detailed information can be obtained from TSPR by calling 1-800-531-5441 extension 5-3676, or by visiting the Comptroller's Web site at www.window.state.tx.us.
TSPR in the Fort Worth Independent School District
On September 20, 2000, Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn selected Fort Worth ISD (FWISD) for a school performance review. TSPR began work in Fort Worth during October 2000 and issued a final report in May 2001. The report identified two student challenges: lagging test scores (particularly at the middle school level) and high dropout rates, as well as three key administrative needs: comprehensive planning, better documented procedures and technology implementation and integration.
The TSPR report also highlighted FWISD's exemplary programs and suggested concrete ways to improve district operations. If fully implemented, the Comptroller's 136 recommendations could result in net savings of $13.4 million over the next five years.
The Comptroller contracted with the Gibson Consulting Group, an Austin-based firm, to assist with the review. The team interviewed district employees, school board members, parents, business leaders and community members and held 11 public forums at each high school. To obtain additional comments, the review team conducted 14 small focus group sessions with teachers, principals, employees, students, parents and community members. A wide array of parents, teachers and community members also called or sent letters to the Comptroller's office.
The review team received 1,467 responses to a district survey from 243 campus and central administrators and support staff, 103 principals, 420 teachers and 51 students. In addition, TSPR conducted a random telephone survey of 650 area households.
The review team also consulted two databases of comparative educational information maintained by the Texas Education Agency (TEA)-the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) and the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS).
FWISD selected peer districts for comparisons based on similarities in student enrollment, student performance and community and student demographics. The selected peer districts included Austin ISD, Dallas ISD, El Paso ISD and Houston ISD. TSPR also compared FWISD to district averages in TEA's Regional Education Service Center XI (Region 11) and the state as a whole.
The state's third largest school district, FWISD serves a culturally diverse population. In 2001-02, the district's enrollment of 81,000 students consisted of 48.1 percent Hispanic, 30 percent African American, 20 percent Anglo, 2 percent Asian Pacific Islander and 0.2 percent Native American. Economically disadvantaged students made up 60.1 percent of the district's student population. These students attended 132 FWISD schools: 77 elementary schools, 24 middle schools, 13 high schools and 18 special and/or alternative education schools.
In 2002, 14 of FWISD's campuses received an Exemplary rating from the Texas Education Agency (TEA); 45 schools received Recognized ratings; and no schools were rated Low-Performing based on academic performance. The district received an overall Academically Acceptable rating (projected/based on 2002 TAAS results).
On January 25, 2000, the current Texas Commissioner of Education Jim Nelson ordered the accountability ratings to be changed for 10 FWISD secondary schools because accurate district leaver data had not been provided to those schools. The TEA's audit indicated that each of these 10 schools had annual dropout rates for 1999-2000 that exceeded the state standard of 5.5 percent for at least one student group on regular campuses and exceeded the greater than 10 percent for alternative education campuses.
Because of the new findings, TEA changed accountability ratings from Acceptable to Not Rated: Data Quality for the following campuses: Carter-Riverside High School, Arlington Heights High School, Eastern Hills High School, North Side High School, Paschal High School, O.D. Wyatt High School, Dunbar High School, Polytechnical High School and Western Hills High School. In addition, the rating for Fort Worth's Success High School changed from Alternative Education: Acceptable to Not Rated: Data Quality.
In 2001-02, 87 percent of all students passed the reading portion of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS); 88 percent passed the math portion; 84.9 percent passed the writing portion; and 79 percent of the students passed all tests taken.
In 2001-02, the district employed a staff of 10,467 employees, with teachers accounting for 4,918 or more than 47 percent of FWISD staffing. The district budgeted expenditures of $477,657,615 for 2001-02. For the same period, FWISD planned to generate budgeted revenues as follows: 45.8 percent through local taxes; 5.4 percent from other local and intermediate sources; 48.3 percent from the state; and .5 percent from the federal government.
In 2001-02, FWISD budgeted 50 cents of every tax dollar on classroom instruction compared to the state average of 51 cents.
Significant changes have occurred in the district since the release of the TSPR report. The death of long-time Board President Gary J. Manny on March 15, 2002, presented some unique district challenges. The timing of Mr. Manny's death prevented the placement of the board president vacancy on the May 4 election ballot. The board successfully petitioned the governor for a special election on August 24, 2002. The close results of the special election necessitated a run-off election held on September 21. In the run-off election, the district selected Lynne L. Manny, Mr.& Manny's widow, to complete the term.
For many years, the Fort Worth ISD has elected the board president as an at-large position; however, the events of this past year have prompted discussion about changing that process. The board began a series of public hearings in September 2002, which it will continue through the spring, to obtain public input before deciding whether or not to continue election of the board president by a general population vote. The other option under consideration would involve restructuring the board into nine single member districts and selecting the president from elected board members. The board expects to make a decision by May 2003.
The FWISD superintendent said that district staff and board found the TSPR report helpful in furthering the district's established priorities, which the district first wrote more than seven years ago. Those priorities include a focus on safe schools, academic performance and dropout prevention.
Before students can learn and teachers can teach, they must feel safe. Violence in the district has decreased. Teacher organizations no longer rate school safety in Fort Worth as a major concern, but suggest diligence on the issue continue. As a result of the review, Student Affairs, in collaboration with other stakeholders, developed a long-range safety and security plan for the superintendent and the board in February 2003. As recommended, the plan includes performance measures and forms for reporting progress.
Any district's core mission centers on instruction and program delivery. When the superintendent arrived at FWISD in 1994, his first focus concerned the low performance of students in district campuses. At the time, the district faced the potential of an excess of 70 low-performing campuses if it did not reverse the existing trend. Math scores of district African American students were particularly low. The district also needed to develop research-based programs and improve its bilingual education program. The spring 2002 TAAS data showed a dramatic increase. Based upon academic achievement, FWISD has 59 high performing schools and no low-performing schools. However, as a result of dropouts from a Juvenile Justice or Disciplinary Alternative Education Campus that were attributed to the last regular campus attended in the district, four of the district's high schools were rated as low-performing and two others' ratings fell from a Recognized status to Acceptable.
Superintendent Dr. Thomas S. Tocco said FWISD has clearly turned the corner academically, but he added the district must maintain its focus. The district implemented the TSPR-recommended initiative to establish an effective transition between elementary and middle school. This move encouraged the district to have all content areas and departments collaborate on efforts to improve student academic performance.
Dropout prevention, intervention and remediation are critical to student success. A citywide effort, involving FWISD, the Fort Worth Metropolitan, Black and Hispanic Chambers of Commerce and members of the community emphasizes that all children need to stay in school.
The district has already acted on a Comptroller's recommendation to establish a department centered on dropout prevention and hire a director. In addition, the district created an office for an executive director for school data management, who works in conjunction with the Attendance Control Office and Information Services to assist schools with dropout prevention, intervention and recovery. The executive director will conduct intra-district audits on leavers at the secondary level to ensure that schools utilize relevant data, maintain documentation and follow district guidelines. In order to accelerate high school completion for potential dropouts, the district provided all high schools with 30 PLATO curriculum software licenses and 15 student computer stations to host a Credit Recovery Program (August 2002). By installing the computers and providing an additional 2.5 positions (.5 lab manager, one Stay-In-School coordinator and one Stay-In-School clerk), the district provided schools the tools to help students recover lost credit and aid their efforts to graduate.
With student academic performance improving, the superintendent said he could now turn his attention to the non-instructional functions of the district's operations. The Comptroller recommended a reorganization that would better align all instructional services and curriculum-related departments and non-instructional services. In September 2001, the board approved the superintendent's reorganization plan, placing all curriculum and instruction under one deputy superintendent and aligning all of the business and non-instructional areas functionally under a second deputy superintendent. As a result of the reorganization, the chief financial officer and the chief information officer report directly to the superintendent. Effective January 2003, the internal auditor now reports directly to the board.
The district is solvent, and most recently, however, law enforcement agencies are currently reviewing district construction projects and purchasing procedures and external auditors released the results of a forensic audit on January 28, 2003 showing that the district may have overpaid contractors by millions of dollars because of lax internal controls. The fund balance has increased to optimum levels, as defined by TEA guidelines, with some planned expenditures of reserves to restore two aging facilities.
Clearly, the district still has work to do, particularly in addressing the concerns contained in the forensic audit. Yet, FWISD staff and TSPR team members concur that the district has made steady progress on the recommendations.FWISD has implemented 116 recommendations; has 15 in various stages of progress; and reviewed two that it has not yet implemented. The district rejected three recommendations as being unworkable. (See Appendix A for details on the recommendations' status.)
Exemplary Programs and Practices
FWISD has experienced some notable successes, and TSPR identified numerous "best practices" in the district. Through commendations in each chapter, the original report highlighted model programs, operations and services provided by FWISD administrators, teachers and staff members. The Comptroller's office encourages other school districts throughout Texas to examine these exemplary programs and services to see if they could be adapted to meet local needs. TSPR's commendations are described below, with updated information in italics following each commendation.
- Reconstituting low-performing schools has improved student performance. FWISD reconstituted four of the lowest performing elementary schools in 1995 and subsequently expanded this process to four other campuses. Staff members on these reconstituted campuses use research-based instruction, health and social services, parental involvement, staff development and well-defined approaches to increasing academic achievement and improving student conduct. One of the district's reconstituted schools earned an Exemplary rating from TEA for the 1999-2000 school year; four schools earned Recognized ratings; and three schools earned Acceptable ratings. The rates of improvement for the reconstituted schools ranged from 30.7 percentage points to 79.7 percentage points.
As the number of FWISD high-performing schools increase, the need for reconstituting low-performing campuses diminishes. In 2002, the district achieved an all time high of 59 campuses rated either Recognized or Exemplary according to the state accountability standards and had no low-performing schools.
The administration staff said that "reconstituting low-performing schools" has significantly contributed to these remarkable results. As one of the largest urban districts in the state, Fort Worth's dedication to improving student performance is reflected in the number of schools reconstituted for low performance. The district will continue to monitor individual schools and consider options, including reconstitution and/or partial reconstitution, to reach the goals set by the board and the superintendent.
- In-house attorney controls legal costs. FWISD's use of a staff attorney helps reduce the need for more expensive outside legal services. The in-house attorney provides direct legal support and advice to administrators and school personnel and coordinates and monitors services provided by outside legal counsel. Consequently, the district's legal fees of $8.80 per student in 1998-99 (the latest year for which statistics are available) compared favorably to its peer districts, which averaged $15.85 per student in legal fees. FWISD's legal fees for outside counsel dropped by another $23,000 last year.
By continuing to use a staff attorney and reducing legal work outsourced to private sector attorneys, FWISD decreased legal fees for fiscal year 2001 by approximately $75,000 from fiscal year 1999. In addition, the district's legal fees have remained under $10.00 per student through 2001. The FWISD staff attorney's responsibilities have increased and now include personnel issues, employment contracts and open record requests. By effectively using the staff attorney for district legal issues and decreasing the amount of work outsourced to private attorneys, FWISD continues to save district legal costs.
- Strategies control employee health care premiums. In spite of general increases in health care costs, FWISD offers lower premiums than the peer district average for each coverage category, while offering benefits similar to the peer districts. To control the overall cost of health care, the district bids out employee health insurance every three years and requires agency service agreements for brokers and agents placing district insurance coverage. The district also contracts directly with medical providers, which allows the district's input into the rate setting process. These strategies have allowed the district to successfully manage health plan costs, while offering comprehensive health care benefits to its employees.
While maintaining the quality of health care service to employees, FWISD's administration and the board remain steadfast in seeking ways to decrease medical insurance costs. The district performs independent claim reviews and audits to re-capture claims paid incorrectly and to evaluate the claim system.
- External investment advisor reduces costs. FWISD uses an external investment advisor to manage its investment portfolio. This practice allows the district to manage its cash flow in a cost-effective manner with less staff than peer districts. In 1999-2000, the district paid approximately $84,000 for this service, which is based upon a fee of 0.15 percent of the total monthly balances. Peers employed from one to four additional employees for this purpose.
FWISD continues to pay an external investment advisor. In addition to providing monthly reports to management and quarterly reports to the board, the investment advisor helps update the investment policy annually and evaluate cash flow analysis. The advisor provides these services for the same fee of 0.15 percent of the total monthly balances.
- Sound inventory controls protect assets. FWISD's central warehouse controls inventories by maintaining lists of commodities by number, description and scheduled inventory counts. The warehouse shares the list with the Accounting Department and the Internal Audit Department so staff in those departments can observe the counts. Consequently, FWISD's inventory variances due to theft, loss, receiving or distribution errors or damage have been less than 1 percent annually since 1998.
Central warehouse staff, in collaboration with the deputy superintendent for Operations Management and Human Services, continue to monitor and amend procedures to minimize losses.
- Competitive bidding, testing and evaluation hold custodial supplies costs down. FWISD bids out custodial supplies and equipment annually and tests all items for efficiency and effectiveness. As a result, the district's actual 1999-2000 custodial supply costs were approximately $7 per student, significantly lower than the spring 1999 American School and University study's suggested costs of between $8 to $10 per student.
FWISD maintains its efforts to seek "best buys" for custodial supplies. In addition to publishing bids, the district also obtains pricing information from the Texas Association of School Board's (TASB) Buy Board and Region IV Texas Cooperative Purchasing Network. The district continuously tests products' effectiveness.
- Energy management program contains costs. FWISD developed an effective energy management program that has held down costs by more than $1.5 million during the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 school years. May 1997, the district signed a performance contract that included an energy accounting software program, employee training on the software and general energy conservation training for the district's energy managers. The accounting software tracks energy consumption and makes adjustments to compensate for variations in weather, building additions and new construction, billing period lengths, additional technology and added new equipment. These adjustments allow the district to make an "apples to apples" comparison of the current year's energy use to the base year.
Since the initial TSPR visit, the district has contracted with Logical Solutions, Inc. to ensure Vision 20/20, the district's software program that controls the energy management system, controls all buildings. The State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) provided the funding to evaluate the heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems in the district's largest high school.
- Chairs for Teaching Excellence program recognizes and rewards outstanding teacher performance. After receiving feedback from employee groups about the need to infuse a new spirit of service in the district, FWISD established the Chairs of Teaching Excellence award program. More than 80 businesses in Fort Worth sponsor an annual outstanding teacher recognition dinner and award 11 teachers each $10,000 cash stipends. Deserving teachers are recognized, and others are encouraged to excel.
FWISD honored 13 teachers in the fall of 2001 as Chairs for Teaching Excellence. Each teacher received a $10,000 honorarium from the following:
- Bank One/English
- Southwestern Bell/Performing Arts
- FFP Marketing/Elementary Reading
- Miller Brewing Company/Social Studies
- Lockheed Martin/Elementary Math
- Lockheed Martin/Elementary Science
- Radio Shack/Secondary Mathematics
- Radio Shack/Secondary Science
- Rotary Club/Special Education
- Pier One Imports/Language Center
- XTO Energy/Early Childhood (two awards).
The Molyneaux Foundation and West Area Rotary Club established a new chair for Teaching Excellence in the area of Special Education in 2001. That same year, 14 teachers in all 11 categories received $1,000 honorariums as finalists. In 2002, Omni American Credit Union established a new chair for Teaching Excellence in Career and Technology Education.
FWISD has made steady progress in implementing TSPR recommendations. One hundred and sixteen recommendations have been implemented; 15 are in various stages of progress; and two have been reviewed, but not implemented. The district rejected only three recommendations as being unworkable.
In June 2002, TSPR staff returned to Fort Worth to assess the district's progress toward implementing the recommendations contained in the May 2001 report. Staff found that some work still remained to be done, particularly in instituting a strong system of internal controls. During the last six months, the district and TSPR have remained in constant communication, and the following policies and procedures have been implemented to address these identified areas of operational concern.
Source: TSPR Interviews and December 18, 2002 letter from Dr. Tocco to the Comptroller.
Recommendation Strategies
for ImprovementResponsible
DepartmentRec. #81: Develop a process for monitoring purchasing procedures and enforcing the district's purchasing policies.
Rec. #68: Require all accrued expenditures be included in the final budget amendment presented to the board.In June 2002, the chief financial officer implemented a procedure to hold district staff accountable for following Board Policy CHD - Guidelines Regarding Purchase Orders. Anyone buying goods without issuing a purchase order, without receiving validation of the purchase order by the Purchasing Department or entering a purchase order after the fact must provide an explanation approved by a deputy superintendent. Letters of concern and formal reprimands have been issued to violators. Continued abuses can result in further disciplinary action or termination. Accounting In September 2002, the superintendent and chief financial officer sent a memo to the board outlining changes in controls and procedures that impact four separate departments regarding unit-price projects. For example, any concrete project at any one location exceeding $10,000 will require separate formal bids be submitted to the board for approval. Internal Audit, Accounting, Purchasing, Maintenance In September 2002, the superintendent approved administrative regulations for authorizing purchases and approving payments chargeable to the bond program. Bond expenditures exceeding $20,000 now require the superintendent's approval. Superintendent, Finance Rec. #12: Develop additional performance measures to evaluate the district's performance, particularly for non-
instructional areas.A strategic plan for non-instructional areas is being incorporated as a part of the district improvement plan. This recommendation resulted in a review of overtime expenditures by department and a written report. In December 2002, the district drafted administrative regulations for restricting and controlling time off granted to exempt employees (employees not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act) for working extra hours. The district issued overtime procedures to increase control of overtime costs. Superintendent, Operations Management, Finance, Human Resources Rec. #35: Evaluate the cost of all procedural and policy changes. In December 2002, after reviewing the cost of certain personnel benefits, the internal auditor drafted administrative regulations to limit and control district expenditures for cell phones. Instead of providing cell phones to all employees and requesting reimbursement for non-business related calls, the district now requires key employees to purchase a cell phone and the district will reimburse the employees based on a monthly allowance. Superintendent, Finance Recs. #76 through 80: [Strengthen and clarify the role and responsibility of the Internal Audit Department] On December 17, 2002, the board approved, on first reading, restructuring the internal audit function to report directly to the board. Additionally, the board elevated the lead internal auditor position to a director position, upgraded the position of internal auditor one pay grade, added a position of senior auditor to the department and approved an annual audit plan. Board, Internal Audit, Superintendent Recently, the district received the results of an external audit and may soon receive the findings of a federal investigation into allegations of financial wrongdoing. These new district policies and procedures provide a good first step in establishing a strong system of internal controls, but as with the TSPR, each of the findings in these reports must be taken seriously and addressed individually.
As FWISD moves forward, it faces three basic challenges: restoring public trust, operating as a team and maintaining focus on instruction.
Restore Public Trust
Following media reports regarding allegations of district misconduct, the public has become deeply concerned about FWISD's stability and integrity. The FWISD board and administration must openly communicate facts rather than allowing rumors and innuendos about current and former employees to continue. Without exception, the board must hold the individuals who have violated board policy and the public trust accountable for their actions. The board must establish the precedent that circumvention of district policies and rules will not be tolerated. Relationships with friends, neighbors and co-workers may be broken during this difficult and painful process. But hurt it must - those who have violated the public trust must understand that circumvention of the rules will simply not be tolerated.
The superintendent and the board, who clearly have been dedicated and aggressive in addressing district academic concerns, must now ensure that all of the policies and procedures established to date and, as required as a result of the external audit findings, are fully implemented. The Comptroller commends the FWISD board for contracting the external audit and for establishing policies. However, the board must now take the next step to obtain assurances from the administration and the internal auditor that staff, vendors and anyone else involved in the process, including the board, comply with those policies and procedures.
The board must devote attention to the construction and maintenance processes, which are areas of particular concern. Action should not be limited to those areas. Purchasing laws and rules at all levels must be adhered to and controls over all non-instructional operations must be strictly enforced.
Operate as a Team
One of FWISD's greatest strengths TSPR observed during the review process was the collaborative working relationship among members of the board and between the board and the administration. Unfortunately, the controversies of the last year have damaged some of those relationships, hindering the board and administration's ability to work in harmony on students' behalf. For example, the December 2002 board meeting lasted past midnight as board members and administrators questioned and re-questioned issues. In the absence of trust, even the most basic district actions are being debated.
Restoring the public trust cannot be accomplished overnight, nor is it something that can be accomplished by one or two people. It will take a team consisting of board members and administrators a year or even two to make the necessary changes that prove to the public past actions will not be repeated.
This is not to advocate that every board vote be a unanimous decision. It does suggest the need for individuals to set aside personal differences, communicate openly and honestly on all issues, treat each other with respect and remain focused on the goals and objectives set forth by the board to serve the district's students. Teamwork, which in the past has been FWISD's greatest strength, can become a district asset once again.
Keep the Focus on Instruction
The district, the board, the administrators and the campus staff cannot allow themselves to be distracted by the immediate controversies. FWISD is still the envy of the other larger urban districts in Texas academically and in many other ways. FWISD enjoys tremendous community support and provides its children a high-quality education. Instruction and program delivery remain the core mission of any district, and FWISD understands that mission and has made dramatic student performance gains districtwide.
Despite the controversies and allegations, FWISD must remain focused on providing quality instruction. The district must continue its exemplary programs, as well as monitor and adjust programs to address any identified weakness. Teachers must continue to be valued and recognized, as the district has done through its Chairs of Teaching Excellence award program. FWISD must continue preparation for the more stringent Texas Assessment of Knowledge Skills (TAKS) and efforts to reduce the number of dropouts. As Comptroller Strayhorn has said many times, "Nothing is more important than education and our children are our most precious resource."
FWISD's Ideas for Improving the Texas School Performance Review
The Texas School Performance Review team does not assume that its process for performing school reviews works so well that it cannot be improved. Therefore, as part of the progress report preparation, TSPR asked Fort Worth ISD staff members and administrators what went right and what went wrong and how the process could be improved.
The feedback TSPR has received from other districts led to improvements in the review process. For example, early reports did not include implementation strategies, and district officials told TSPR they needed help in getting started. As a result, the reports now include IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES AND TIMELINEs to supplement the recommendations. District officials have told TSPR these blueprints are invaluable to achieving the desired results. It is important, however, for TSPR to be mindful of those things that did not work as intended so the review process can be continuously improved.
Fort Worth administrators and board members made the following observations:
Surveys sent to board members requesting their observations about the review process were generally positive. Board members said that they felt the review was fair, highlighting both the challenges facing the district as well as the exemplary programs and practices. One board member commented that most decisions on the recommendations were not difficult, because the recommendations were very logical and realistic. Board members made no suggestions for improving the process.
Dr. Tocco and his staff voiced similar praise for the review, but voiced concern about the cost of implementing some of the recommendations during discussions with staff. TSPR had assumed that district staff could perform much of the necessary work in house, while the district's approach included hiring external consultants to assist in the process. Administrators said they thought the consultant costs were necessary, because district staff did not always possess the expertise to accomplish certain tasks. TSPR staff will be mindful of these comments and try to assess the cost of external expertise when needed.
The district staff expressed concern about the tight implementation timelines suggested in the original report. Taken individually, the timelines seemed reasonable, but when taken collectively, it was difficult for the designated staff to assume the responsibility for implementing numerous recommendations without assistance. TSPR has heard this comment in the past and has attempted to adjust timelines to make them more realistic. On the other hand, TSPR is also well aware that progress in implementing the recommendations is typically made within the first year. Recommendations that take longer than a year to fully implement or set into motion are often never accomplished. TSPR staff will continue to work through these competing factors and make every effort to be realistic in proposed implementation strategies and timelines.
