There are nearly 300 qualifying applicants for the Fort Worth Independent School District Board of Managers.

This new board will replace the elected board as part of the state's intervention over the district because of failing grades.

There was so much interest that the state extended the deadline to Dec. 1 when the original cutoff was over a week ago.

According to the application, some disqualifying factors include conflicts of interest with the district, like business ties or affiliations with closed charter schools and a criminal history. Other than that, applications were open to anyone passionate about education and making a change within the district.

Ideally, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said he would prefer to appoint people who are local to Fort Worth, but that it

See Full Page