The Fort Worth (Texas) district will pay former Superintendent Angélica Ramsey $544,463 to buy out her contract, according to her exit agreement with the school board.
The Fort Worth Report says that the 12-page agreement states that Ramsey, whose last day as superintendent was Sept. 30, will receive two major lump sum payments as well as retirement funds. It also spells out her appointment as a public relations ambassador for the district; however, she was immediately placed on leave from that job with full salary and benefits.
Ramsey is the third consecutive Fort Worth superintendent the school board has bought out of a contract. Her predecessor, Kent Scribner, received $574,077 in 2022. Scribner’s predecessor, Walter Dansby, got $892,899 when he left the district in 2014.
If Ramsey resigns as a district employee before her designated last day — Aug. 30, 2025 — Fort Worth will not make any future payments.
“It is bittersweet for me to notify you of my decision to resign from the district, effective Aug. 30, 2025,” Ramsey wrote in a Sept. 24 resignation letter to trustees.
Ramsey’s resignation took effect Oct. 1, about two years after she took over as superintendent. On Oct. 1, the district paid Ramsey $247,961.58, or one-half of one year’s salary and benefits.
The district will pay Ramsey another $247,961.58 between Jan. 1 and Jan. 15, 2025, according to the agreement.
Ramsey’s salary as superintendent was $335,000. She is to be paid $495,923.16, representing a year’s worth of salary and benefits. Also, on Oct. 1, Ramsey received a payment of $48,539.83 for unused vacation time.
Since trustees accepted Ramsey’s resignation, they have been mostly quiet; Ramsey and the school board agreed to not disparage each other, according to the contract.
“The parties further agree that no party shall ever make any statements or references to the fact that they ‘won,’ ‘prevailed,’ or ‘were prevailing parties,’” the agreement states.
Ramsey’s two years of leadership marks the shortest Fort Worth superintendency in at least 50 years. She was previously the superintendent of Midland district in West Texas, where she served for one year and eight months.
In the weeks leading up to her resignation, Ramsey faced questions about her leadership and effectiveness. Before that, tensions between Ramsey and the school board had grown fraught over her evaluations. In February, Ramsey said the school board breached her contract.
