Wichita Falls ISD board unanimously approves TEA 'agreed order,' accepts conservator oversight

The Wichita Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve an "agreed order" with the Texas Education Agency, preserving local governance while accepting oversight and a reporting structure intended to monitor the district's academic turnaround.

President Luther moved to "approve the agreed order as presented by TEA and as discussed in our closed session," a motion the board adopted 7–0 in open session. President Luther announced the meeting adjourned after the vote.

The agreement, described by Superintendent Dr. Lee at a postvote press conference, includes conservator oversight with a check‑in system and a requirement that the conservator provide reports every 90 days, Dr. Lee said. The order also emphasizes Lone Star Governance training for trustees and centers TEA evaluation on academic performance and improvement rather than finances or operations, he added.

"Relief would be the first word that comes to mind," Dr. Lee said when asked how the district felt at the decision. He described "joy and gratitude" for district staff, students, parents and the Wichita Falls community after years of uncertainty.

Dr. Lee outlined steps the district has taken since 2022 to address underperforming campuses, including moving curriculum specialists onto campus, increasing compensation for staff at struggling schools, adopting aligned K–8 curricula (Amplify Reading and Bluebonnet Math) and partnering with Third Future Schools at Hershey Middle School. He said the district reduced the number of failing campuses from 12 to five over three years, expects no failing campuses when state results are released in August, and has nearly tripled its fund balance to "close to $60,000,000."

Asked whether Third Future Schools would continue to operate Hershey, Dr. Lee said the program will remain in place and that planned work at Booker T. Washington and Southern Hills has not changed. He cited early instructional gains tied to Third Future, saying the program produced "about almost 1.6 years of growth in the first 6 months" and had produced "almost 3 years' growth" from midyear data to recent checks.

Representative James Frank, who addressed the audience at the press event, said a campus failing for five years amounts to "academic neglect" and called the TEA agreement "a vote of confidence" in the district's recent progress. He pledged to continue working at the legislative level and with TEA to secure resources for the district.

Dr. Lee said the district does not yet have a detailed schedule for every TEA check‑in or the tiers of consequences should the district fail to meet metrics, but he said the conservator's reporting will be more intensive early on and may taper as the conservator documents sustained progress. He noted that the TEA metrics will focus on academic performance and improvement across all students systemwide.

The board's approval of the agreed order follows closed‑session consultation with legal counsel; the board cited Texas government code 5 5 1.071 when announcing that closed session would take place. Dr. Lee and trustees thanked community partners — including Representative James Frank, Mayor Tim Short, ESC Region 9 leaders, faith leaders and local advocates — for letters and outreach to TEA.

Next steps for the district include the selection and onboarding of a conservator, the scheduled 90‑day reporting cadence, and forthcoming academic accountability results the superintendent said will be released in August.

Actions recorded in the meeting included the motion to approve the agreed order presented by TEA, which passed by a 7–0 vote. The motion was made from the dais by President Luther; a second was voiced but the transcript does not clearly identify the trustee who seconded the motion.