Killeen ISD Faces Turnaround Plans for Underperforming Schools

Killeen, Texas — Manor Middle School is among three campuses that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has mandated the Killeen Independent School District (KISD) to submit turnaround plans for, following consecutive years of poor accountability ratings.

The TEA issued a letter on September 3 requiring KISD to deliver a plan by November 14 aimed at addressing failing statistics in middle schools. Steve Lecholop, TEA Deputy Commissioner of Governance, wrote to King Davis, KISD’s interim superintendent, and board president Brett E. Williams, highlighting the need for these plans at schools that received unacceptable ratings for two or more years.

In the letter, Lecholop noted that Manor Middle School received an F for the school years 2023, 2024, and 2025. Other failing campuses, Palo Alto Middle School and Eastern Hills Middle School, received a D in 2023, followed by two Fs.

“While this letter addresses campuses with consecutive unacceptable ratings, six other schools in your district have earned a D in the 2024–2025 school year,” Lecholop mentioned. “The Division of School Improvement has sent the district information about interventions for these schools.”

For campuses deemed unacceptable over two consecutive years, the commissioner requires schools to prepare turnaround plans. However, because Manor and Palo Alto Middle School both failed for three years straight, KISD must develop and implement comprehensive plans for them.

Lecholop also warned that if a school does not improve after five consecutive years of poor performance, the commissioner could appoint a board of managers or even order its closure.

During KISD’s recent town hall on District Optimization, which addresses challenges such as declining enrollment and loss of funding, Davis noted that the TEA commissioner could send a conservator to supervise the district, limiting local control.

In a statement sent to KISD families, Davis mentioned, “We are evaluating proven options and innovative approaches, including ACE (Accelerating Campus Excellence) and SB 1882 Partnership models.”

The ACE model involves giving higher salaries to top-performing teachers to encourage them to work in underperforming schools. The SB 1882 model would see KISD partner with a charter school, allowing the charter to control staffing and curriculum.

The district seeks community feedback to guide recommendations to the Board of Trustees in October. Davis confirmed that inputs have already been collected during three town hall meetings, with more discussions to come.