Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath wants the least disruptive decision possible as he considers a potential takeover of Fort Worth schools, he explained to state lawmakers Wednesday.

The fate of the roughly 70,000-student district is in the balance after the persistent failing of a now-closed campus.

Morath told the Texas Senate education committee during its Aug. 6 hearing in Austin that he hasn’t made a decision on whether or not to strip FWISD’s elected trustees of their power and appoint a new board, similar to what happened in Houston .

“It’s very painful when that is the true choice,” Morath said. “But if that is the situation, if it does the best for the kids, then I think anybody in my position would be a coward to do anything else.”

Five years of failing grades at the

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