School district leaders said the state’s increasing reliance on takeovers to improve academic performance threatens local control. The emergence of private school vouchers could pose another challenge.
Texas superintendents on Saturday said state takeovers of school districts — where democratically elected school boards are ousted and replaced with a state-appointed board of managers — is not a sustainable means to improve student learning.
Two of Texas’ largest school districts, Houston ISD, and most recently, Fort Worth ISD, are under a takeover, after five consecutive years of failing ratings at one of their campuses.
“Do I think that’s sustainable? Absolutely not. I don’t,” Martha Salazar-Zamora, the superintendent of Tomball ISD, said at The Texas Tribune Festival. “I don’t think that’s what local control is supposed to look like. I don’t actually think that’s what the public school experience is supposed to look like.”
About 40 miles north of Houston, Tomball ISD is a high-performing district with about 22,000 students. The district earned an A rating in 2025.
On the panel Saturday, school leaders from across the state — Salazar-Zamora, San Angelo ISD Superintendent Christopher Moran and Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura — warned state takeovers are threatening local control at a time districts are already cash-strapped because of budget deficits.
Since 2000, the Texas Education Agency has taken over 11 school districts around the state. State leaders have reasoned it is their last resort to improve academic performance, a responsibility public schools have to its communities.
Upheaval in the Houston school district has shown how contentious takeovers can get. While state-appointed superintendent Mike Miles touted no failing schools in 2025 because of his reforms, it came at the cost of a mass exodus of students and teachers.
The superintendents on Saturday said that they don’t shy away from accountability measures to ensure their students are on track with their learning. However, they added, decision-making power should remain with local school boards.
Source: and , The Texas Tribune
Photo Credit: From left: Texas Tribune public education reporter Jaden Edison moderates a panel with Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura, Tomball ISD Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora, and San Angelo ISD Superintendent Christopher Moran during The Texas Tribune Festival in downtown Austin, on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025. Manoo Sirivelu/The Texas Tribune
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