By: Bill Zeeble , KERA NEWS
FORT WORTH–In a surprise announcement, Fort Worth Superintendent Walter Dansby resigned last night (Monday night). The school board accepted the resignation by a six to three vote. KERA’s Bill Zeeble reports reasons remain unclear.
At least once before in the past few months, Fort Worth trustees met behind closed doors for hours on end. Last night, the back room meeting lasted four and half hours. Again the topic was the evaluation of Walter Dansby, Superintendent since 2012. As he and trustees returned to the open session, at least a hundred patient Dansby supporters burst into applause.
After some silence, trustee Matthew Avila made his motion.
Matthew Avila: “I move that we accept the resignation of Mr. Dansby.”
Without offering a reason why, Dansby thanked supporters.
Walter Dansby: “I leave this position without regrets whatsoever and wish the board, parents, staff, teachers, patrons, and especially the students the best of luck.” Dansby said. “I want to thank each one of you for allowing me to serve in this capacity and serving the school district for 40 years. I’m very grateful for that. I would hope this would not turn into anything that would be very negative or impact the district in a negative way. We are bigger than this.”
Board President Christene Moss called the move a surprise and with trustees Ramos and Robbins rejected the resignation, But theirs was a minority.
Longtime friend Dan Puckett played under basketball coach Dansby decades ago.
Dan Puckett: “He could get you to do things you didn’t like doing and make you like doing it.” Puckett said. “I wish we had a school board that wasn’t so disfunctional . They’re acting like a bunch of toddlers in a sand pit that can’t share the toys. They’re just a bunch of cry-babies and we’re tired of it.”
Dansby mentioned accomplishments he was proud of; a growing early childhood program, schools for STEM and the arts, passage of a bond program. But Fort Worth ISD also stands alone in Texas with the highest percentage of low performing schools.
Dansby’s resignation is effective next Monday, June 9th. He’ll officially retire January 31st of next year.
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