Lake Worth parents, faculty press state about ongoing district takeover

In the seven months since Mark Ramirez was hired as Lake Worth school district’s superintendent, Chris Hollie has seen a lot of improvement across the district and is proud the community found a leader it can trust.

Despite low ratings from the Texas Education Agency during assessments of the district’s schools, Hollie, who serves as a truancy compliance facilitator for Lake Worth, is proud of the work Ramirez has done to get the district back on track since he was hired in May 2025. He believed even better days were ahead.

But now, Ramirez will soon be replaced by a state-appointed superintendent after the TEA announced it was taking over the district because of continuously low ratings. Hollie stood before TEA Deputy Commissioner Steve Lecholop at Lake Worth High School on Wednesday night and told him a huge mistake was being made.

“This community is about to be changed and flipped upside down,” Hollie said. “The community found somebody that actually cared about the community and you guys are going to strip the community of what we have found.”

Dozens more Lake Worth parents and teachers pressed Lecholop at the meeting hosted by the TEA Wednesday night in the Lake Worth High School auditorium. The meeting allowed community members to directly ask the TEA questions about the takeover and how it would affect the district.

Over 100 people were in attendance, and dozens spoke passionately to Lecholop. Almost every speaker agreed that replacing Ramirez would be a grave mistake. The TEA announced in December that Ramirez was not being considered to keep his post.

“My great hope is that this takeover positively impacts this community,” Lecholop told attendees. “Kids are going to be improving in their ability and their proficiency in reading and math. That’s going to have a positive impact on the community.”

The TEA’s takeover of Lake Worth was initiated in December after Marilyn Miller Language Academy received a fifth consecutive F rating, which triggered a Texas law allowing TEA commissioner Mike Morath to name a replacement superintendent, appoint a board of managers and a conservator to oversee the takeover process.

Morath appointed Andrew Kim, a former superintendent who is a co-conservator of an El Paso-area school district, as the district’s conservator on Jan. 8. A board of managers and superintendent have not yet been named.

Mary Coker, a current school board member who will eventually be replaced once the state-appointed board is announced, pressed Lecholop on how the TEA would support Lake Worth financially.

“As a financially struggling district, as many other schools are in Texas, if the state is going to take us over, it would be nice if they would help offset some of the cost of them taking over.”

Lake Worth will be responsible for footing the cost of the state-appointed superintendent, the conservator and the eventual buyout of Ramirez’s contract. There is no set salary for the new superintendent, but Kim will be paid $250 per hour as the state-appointed conservator.

“There’s no additional money that comes to the school district based on these type of state interventions,” Lecholop told Coker.

“I figured,” she replied, drawing applause from the audience.

Christiana Gallagher, another current school board member awaiting her replacement, also backed Ramirez. She told Lecholop it wasn’t fair for the state to come observe Lake Worth for one day and make a decision on the fate of the district.

Morath visited Lake Worth schools in October to observe how teachers delivered instruction and decide whether a state takeover would be necessary.

“The commissioner came in for one day to review our schools,” Gallagher said. “Did he ever consider that there are literally children helping their siblings get ready for school that day, getting them fed, getting them on the bus, and then they have to go into school and take a test that day? My children go here. I would not make decisions that will harm my child and my fellow citizens’ children.”

A number of parents of Lake Worth students told the Star-Telegram in December that they were doubtful a takeover could effectively get the district back on track, pointing to deeper issues like parent apathy and the large number of students who are still learning English.

But Wednesday night, everyone seemed to care deeply.

Cindy Solis, a bus driver at Lake Worth, was on the verge of tears when she shared with Lecholop what working at the district meant to her and how Ramirez has made a difference.

“I love my children on the bus,” Solis said. “I don’t care what route they put me on or where they make me drive. I love what I do. Mr. Ramirez has come and made a difference, made an impact on everybody in the district. If he hadn’t, none of us would be speaking out for him and I really wish you’d reconsider.”

After an hour and a half of answering questions, Lecholop told the audience he would take one final question. That came from a man who quickly grabbed the microphone, didn’t share his name, and spoke seven words that drew the largest applause of the night.

“Can this new board just reinstate Ramirez?” he said before walking off.