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 business competitiveness.
Parker urged Fort Worth ISD administrators to significantly improve test scores and academic performance in a letter to district leaders Tuesday. Forty-five people, including prominent business community members and city officials, signed the letter.
State lawmakers have also expressed support since Parker’s letter was published.
Fort Worth ISD ranks 22nd among 24 Texas public school districts with similar populations serving 20,000 or more students. State test results administered last spring showed that 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 their once-subpar achievement scores.
The quality of schools is an important part of the conversations local business owners have with companies considering moving to Fort Worth.
Mike Berry, president of AllianceTexas developer Hillwood, said the strength of the labor and talent pipelines has trumped the cost of relocation as the primary concern for companies considering moving to North Texas. Those pipelines start with K-12 education.
“We need to be very, very intentional about continuing to improve our public education system because that is kind of a banner, kind of a testament to where a community stands in terms of its priorities and the attention it pays to developing a talented, highly educated workforce for the future,” Berry said.
Berry said that when he talks schools with businesses, he focuses on the entire region, not just Fort Worth ISD. Some districts in Tarrant County, including Carroll and Keller, have significantly better standardized test scores than Fort Worth. Still, he believes a strong urban school district is important for both students and attracting new businesses.
“We can tell businesses that there are a lot of quality public school systems in the area, 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 expect the city to be kind of a leader.”
Tom Harris, Hillwood’s executive vice president, also co-signed Parker’s letter. He chairs the Mayor’s Council on Education and Workforce Development and said the business community’s concerns about Fort Worth ISD are not new.
Harris said he knows the public criticism is difficult for the school board to swallow, but it is a necessary step to improve education for students.
“We have to stop worrying about hurting each other’s feelings, and we have to find a way together over time, and it’s going to take years, not days, not weeks, not months, to get these kids’ academic performance up to where it should be,” Harris told the Star-Telegram.
The quality of school districts is widely seen as an important component of economic development. Businesses are more likely to relocate to cities where schools support the development of a strong future workforce and where their employees’ children receive a first-class education.
Other co-signers of 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’s law school, a trustee of 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 one of the signatories, but he said he supports the mayor’s efforts.
“At the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership, we’re in the business of bringing businesses to Fort Worth,” Allen said in a statement. “And nothing is more important in attracting businesses than education. I stand with Mayor Parker and our business community. To build tomorrow’s economy, we need the best schools today. Our future demands it. Our children 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 in a long-term initiative to ensure that students receive a quality education. While he acknowledged that change takes time, he said now is the time to start.
“How can we shortchange our young people? I mean, we can’t waste a minute,” Montgomery said.
