Hinojosa Says She Will Fire TEA Chief Mike Morath on Day One — the Commissioner Who Ran the Fort Worth ISD Takeover
Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa promised in her victory speech to fire Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath on her first day, and told her first news conference her team is already interviewing replacements. For Dallas–Fort Worth, the name is not abstract: Morath's agency drove the state takeover of Fort Worth ISD, and his term expires January 10 — nine days before Hinojosa takes office.
AUSTIN — A major shakeup is on the horizon for Texas public education, and its first move is a firing. "On day one, I will fire Mike Morath, and we will work tirelessly to repair the damage of the Texas vouchers scam and end an era in which our schools are sold for parts," Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa said in her victory speech on November 3, as USA TODAY reported. At her first news conference as governor-elect on November 5, Hinojosa said her team is "actively interviewing people" to replace him.
Morath has run the Texas Education Agency since Governor Greg Abbott appointed him commissioner in 2016. The agency oversees 1,207 school districts and more than 9,000 schools. He drove the revamp of the state's A-F school accountability system and the state takeovers of large districts including Houston ISD and Fort Worth ISD — the takeover that put a state-appointed board over the Metroplex's second-largest district. His term expires on January 10, and Hinojosa takes office on January 19.
For his part, Morath has signaled cooperation with the change. A TEA spokesperson told KPRC, the NBC affiliate in Houston, that Morath told a group of school leaders he was committed to "ensuring a smooth and successful transition for the incoming education commissioner." USA TODAY reached out to the TEA for further comment and had not heard back when its file published.
The commissioner is not the only education seat in motion. Unofficial results show Democrats winning seven seats on the 15-member Texas State Board of Education, up from four — leaving the board split 7-7, with the majority resting on District 8, where Democrat Dana Van De Walker led Republican incumbent Audrey Young by 564 votes as of November 6. The board works alongside the commissioner to set curriculum standards, adopt teaching materials and establish graduation requirements for Texas's K-12 public schools — the machinery that reaches every classroom in Dallas ISD and Fort Worth ISD alike.
