The Texas Education Agency has tapped veteran educator Andrew Kim as conservator for Lake Worth Independent School District, stepping into a powerful oversight role after years of low test scores and a state-ordered takeover. The move follows a trigger event at Marilyn Miller Language Academy, which has stacked up multiple unacceptable accountability ratings. Kim is set to work alongside district leaders to track improvement plans, with a sharp focus on foundational reading and math. District officials say schools will stay open during the transition.
TEA moves in after failing campus ratings
The Texas Education Agency ordered the takeover after Marilyn Miller Language Academy logged its fifth straight unacceptable accountability rating, a statutory trigger that forces the agency to either close the campus or install state governance, according to CBS Texas. Commissioner Mike Morath visited the district in October before issuing the enforcement action, and the agency set an immediate appeals timeline in its letter to trustees. The Lake Worth move is part of a broader push to intervene in districts with chronically low campus ratings across Texas.
Commissioner names Andrew Kim as conservator
In a Jan. 8 letter to Superintendent Mark Ramirez and the Lake Worth ISD board, Morath named Andrew Kim to the conservator post, giving him authority to oversee district operations and governance while reporting directly to the agency, as reported by Fort Worth Report. The appointment took effect immediately, and Kim is expected to attend board meetings and executive sessions while helping monitor district turnaround plans. The role also formalizes the TEA’s earlier decision to appoint a board of managers to temporarily replace the locally elected trustees.
Kim brings prior conservatorship experience
Kim has already done this kind of work before. He previously served as a co-conservator in Socorro ISD alongside Michael Hinojosa and has led Texas districts as a superintendent, giving him experience with district-level turnarounds, according to El Paso Matters. Colleagues in El Paso credited the conservators with system-level fixes that emphasized compliance and fiscal stability. TEA has increasingly turned to veteran superintendents for conservatorships as a rapid-response tool in low-performing districts.
Conservator powers and costs
Morath’s letter lays out broad authority for the conservator, including the power to oversee and direct actions by the superintendent, principals, and the governance team, and to require regular progress reports back to the agency, per Fort Worth Report. Lake Worth ISD was told it will pay the conservator $250 an hour plus $50 an hour for travel and necessary expenses, and Morath warned that if payments lag, the agency can deduct what is owed from district funds. The position is designed to put hands-on oversight directly over classroom-facing programs such as early literacy and math intervention.
District leaders pledge cooperation
Lake Worth ISD officials say they accept the state’s decision and will continue working with TEA during the transition, stressing that schools will remain open, according to CBS Texas. Board President Tammy Thomas has publicly said she is prepared to step aside if the state will consider keeping Superintendent Mark Ramirez, a position she reiterated at a recent meeting, per KERA News. Ramirez has stated he will assist during the handoff while keeping his focus on classroom instruction and student learning.
Local context
Lake Worth ISD enrolls roughly 3,200 students and has struggled on state assessments for years, with Marilyn Miller last meeting an acceptable performance standard in the 2016–17 school year, according to school profiles compiled by the Texas Tribune. That chronic underperformance, rather than a single bad year, is what triggered the statutory remedies that led to the takeover. Local leaders and parents are now watching to see how quickly the conservator and any appointed board move from evaluation to measurable changes in classrooms.
What’s next
The district can appeal TEA’s enforcement action, and the agency typically follows with a review and the selection of a board of managers to temporarily govern the district, as outlined by KERA News. How long the conservatorship lasts will depend on exit criteria tied to campus performance and TEA evaluations. For now, families, teachers, and trustees are watching for quick, concrete moves to boost reading and math at the district's lowest-performing campuses.
