In a takeover of Connally ISD, the state brought in an educator from a neighboring Waco district to accelerate academic gains.
Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath picked Josie Gutierrez to lead the 2,000-student district, citing her success in improving outcomes and strengthening teacher retention as deputy superintendent and an assistant superintendent of human resources for Waco ISD.
Recommended Videos
Gutierrez is the latest superintendent Morath has appointed in recent weeks to helm districts after the commissioner took control from locally elected school trustees over poor academic performance.
Other state interventions include those in Fort Worth, Lake Worth and Beaumont.
Two campuses in Connally ISD — its junior high and one of its elementary schools — triggered the takeover after each failed Texas’ academic accountability ratings for five consecutive years.
District leaders independently announced they would close Connally Elementary earlier this year. The junior high jumped from an F to a D in 2025. Administrators also adopted new lessons aimed at improving academic performance.
But the moves weren’t enough to put the brakes on a takeover.
“These are kids that are full of hope and opportunity, very well-behaved,” Morath said when he toured the district last year. “They’re eager to learn, and I know that the administrative team here is working hard to try to provide improved quality of learning. The question is, how do we go even faster? How do we give kids the absolute best?”
Morath also appointed three community members to the board of managers, who replace the authority of the elected trustees.
All but one of Connally ISD’s five rated campuses got unacceptable scores in the 2023-24 school year, Morath said in a letter explaining the takeover. Only 24% of students in the district are performing at grade level or higher on the state standardized test, far below Texas’ average.
Connally school leaders cut nearly 100 jobs since the takeover was announced as part of a restructuring, including all principals, many assistant principals and about 50 teachers.
The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.