Fort Worth ISD is looking to fill four trustee seats on the school board this year — District 2, District 5 and District 6 are contested, while Christene Moss of District 3 is running unopposed.
The next board faces several challenges, such as the search for a superintendent, managing an estimated $489 million bond issue and an academic achievement minority gap.
With a budget of nearly $700 million, FWISD ranks 215 out of 1,224 districts in fund spending per student at $9,514 per student, compared to the average of all schools at $12,241 per student, based on the 2014 PEIMS data received from FWISD.
The school district includes 146 campuses, over 86,000 students and 10,000 employees.
“The search for the next superintendent is number one concern for the majority of the board,” said board member Jacinto Ramos Jr.
He said the board also has to address ways to increase test scores and prioritize spending.
In District 2, incumbent Tobi Jackson faces Joel Aguilar and Sultan Cole.
Long time board member Judy Needham, who represents District 5, will be facing Linda LaBeau once again. LaBeau challenged Needham in her last election.
Incumbent Ann Sutherland is vying with Cecelia Speer to represent District 6.
All of the districts are single-member districts, which means individual communities are only able to vote for the district they live in.
All of the trustees serve four-year terms without pay. They meet every other week.
Early voting began April 27 and will end at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Election day is Saturday.