The Texas Education Agency (TEA) hosted a community meeting at Westbrook High School’s Performing Arts Center, Jan. 21 to discuss the upcoming district takeover and to provide further explanation to concerned members of the community. TEA Deputy Commissioner of Governance, Steve Lecholop, was the speaker and moderator for the event.
Along with recapping the important events up until the present, Lecholop explained the formal review which occurred December 11, 2025 was the first step in a due process appeal.
Until then, the process for local community members to apply for the new Board of Managers is still open with a new extended deadline for mid-February, close to the starting date for the training period to begin. No official deadline date has been announced.
“(The Board of Managers) effectively step into the shoes of the elected board,” Lecholop explained. “But, the elected board will still exist. There will still be elections for school board members, but those elected board members will have no authority under the law, so they will have no responsibilities separate from a normal citizen of the city. This is important, because we have to have elected representatives whenever the process begins to roll back to the district.”
Every Board of Managers intervention is guaranteed to last for two years. At the two year anniversary, the commissioner can either choose to begin the transition back to the elected board, or to extend the intervention for two more years.
If the commissioner decides to begin the transition back to the elected board after two years, the state law requires one-third of the board to be elected alongside the Board of Managers within the third year of the takeover. After the fourth year, two-thirds of the elected board will rejoin the district, making up the majority of the school board. Finally, after the fifth year, the final third of the elected school board will join the district, officially ending the state takeover.
But, if the commissioner decides to extend the takeover another two years, the cycle will repeat. The “start” of the takeover will be determined once the Board of Managers and the new superintendent have been appointed by Mike Morath.
Several community members voiced their concerns at the meeting, with main questionings concerning what TEA’s exact plan is to improve BISD and if the strategies and programs already implemented will continue into the district’s future.
“I know that the district has been engaging with the TEA for all the school improvement steps along the way that are required. I do not know the content of those school improvement plans, but I know that it has been many, many, many years that they have been engaging with our school improvement, making plans and executing on those plans, with the target of improving student achievement,” Lecholop explained. “Unfortunately, that just hasn't happened. The commissioner will appoint a new superintendent, and once that superintendent is appointed, that's when the root cause analysis will occur. That person will make all the operational decisions that are necessary to improve student achievement, with acceleration and velocity, because we know that our students can't wait. I can't tell you what those actions are going to be, because those are going to be the responsibility of the new superintendent.”
Lecholop emphasized that throughout this whole process, there are no secrets and all of the information is readily available on their website, any time.
For more information, visit https://tea.texas.gov/. Applications for Beaumont residents seeking appointment to the board of managers may be completed online at www.tea.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0kSl9E85hRf8JgO.
For further inquiries, contact BoardofManagers@tea.texas.gov.