DFW News App

Editor’s note: This story will be updated Monday, Feb. 17, for candidacy filings filed and processed after Feb. 14. Fort Worth-area school board elections are just around the corner, and dozens of candidates are in line.Fort Worth ISD, the city’s largest school district, will see four incumbents face challengers.Mark your calendar for these key voting dates:

April 3: Last day to register to vote

April 22: Last day to apply for a mail-in ballot

April 22: Early voting begins 

April 29: Early voting ends 

May 3: Election DayYou may check your voter registration status here.Here are the candidates who filed:Aledo ISDTwo seats with three-year terms are on the ballot for the at-large, seven-member Aledo ISD school board:Place 4: Forrest Collins has been on the school board since 2016. He currently serves as board president, a role he has held since 2023 — and hopes to hold for another term.

Place 5: Jennifer Taylor has served as a trustee since 2019. She currently serves as board secretary. Taylor is not running for reelection.Lynn Morgan filed for election. Morgan previously served on the Aledo Attendance Zone Committee and on Aledo LEADS. A former high school math teacher, Morgan now works as an economics professor at Texas Christian University. She is a mother of three.

Kelli Stahl filed for election. Stahl is a nurse at Cook Children’s Pediatrics (Henderson) in Fort Worth. She has two daughters.

Leia Jobe Brown filed for election. Brown is a mother of two toddler sons and works as a photographer. Brown has a doctorate in education and a master’s degree in educational leadership.Burleson ISDTwo seats on the seven-member Burleson ISD school board are on the ballot. Trustees are elected at large and serve three-year terms.Place 1: Shawn Minor has been on the school board since 2010.Minor filed for reelection. Minor works as a managing director at T-Mobile.

Place 2: Michael Ancy has served as a trustee since 2007.Ancy filed for reelection. Ancy is retired. He previously worked as a senior account manager for Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions.Castleberry ISDThree seats on the seven-member Castleberry ISD school board are up for election in May. Trustees are elected at large and serve three-year terms.Place 5: Mary Lou Martinez was first elected to the school board in 2004. She currently serves as board vice president.

Place 6: Cathy Gatica was first elected in 2013. She currently serves as board secretary.

Place 7: David Holder was first elected to the school board in 2001.Kevin Robles filed for election. Robles, who graduated from Castleberry ISD in 2017, currently works as a human resource leader for Tarrant Area Food Bank.

Janice Carrell filed for election. Carrell is a mother of two Castleberry ISD graduates and works as an insurance manager for Carson Hearing Care. Carrell previously ran for Castleberry ISD school board in 2024. Crowley ISDVoters will decide a trio of at-large spots on the seven-member Crowley ISD school board. Place 5: Daryl Davis was elected in 2022. He currently serves as board president. Davis initially filed for reelection, but withdrew to run for Fort Worth City Council.Ryan Ray filed for election. Ray served as Crowley ISD trustee in Place 5 from 2012 to 2022, but lost his seat to Davis in the 2022 election. Ray is chief executive officer at The Ray Tax Group, a property reduction tax service.

Melondy Doddy-Muñoz filed for election. Doddy-Muñoz, a former senior director of strategy and growth at Tarrant To & Through Partnership, currently serves as an affiliate for Southside Fort Worth. She previously ran for Crowley ISD school board in 2024. 

Chakina “CC” Watkins filed for election. Watkins, a master hairstylist and cosmetology expert, mentors beauty students. An author of two books, Watkins founded the Next Level Cosmetology Camp for Kids.

Place 6: Gary Grassia was first elected trustee in 2015. He is one of the board’s vice presidents and is seeking reelection.

Place 7: Kelicia Stevenson was elected in 2022 and is seeking her second term.Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISDThree seats on the seven-member Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD school board will be on the ballot. Trustees are elected at large and serve three-year terms.Place 3: Tim Daughtrey was first elected in 2016.T. Craig Morgan, who works in industrial development, is seeking the seat.

Trenton “Trent” Hill, a Fort Worth police officer, filed for election. Hill previously sought a seat on the school board in 2023.

Misty Jo Kieschnick, a volunteer and retired sales executive, is running. She previously sought a seat on the school board in 2023.

Place 4: William Boaz has been on the board since 2019, and he is seeking reelection.

Place 5: Steven Newcom was first elected in 1995 and is seeking another term. He currently serves as board secretary.Everman ISDTwo seats on the Everman ISD school board are on the ballot, with both being single-member districts. Trustees serve three-year terms, with two of the board’s seven members serving at large, while the other five are single-member district seats. Place 1: Earnestine Palos was first elected in 2019.

Place 4: Linda Lutrick has served on the board since 2019. She currently serves as board secretary. Fort Worth ISDFive seats on the nine-member Fort Worth ISD school board are on the ballot. Each seat is a single-member district, meaning members represent a specific geographic area that votes for them. Trustees serve four-year terms.District 1: Camille Rodriguez was elected in 2022 to represent parts of north Fort Worth ISD; she previously served one term between 2004 and 2008. She is seeking another term.Educator Amanda Inay is hoping to deny Rodriguez another term on the school board. Inay is a former Fort Worth ISD teacher of the year who now teaches at Rocketship Public Schools.

District 4: Wallace Bridges was elected in 2022 to serve an unexpired term following the death of then-trustee Daphne Brookins. He represents southeast Fort Worth ISD and is seeking his first, full four-year term.Educator Enoc Baeza is challenging Bridges. Baeza, a father of three, has worked as a teacher in charter schools in North Texas, according to his campaign site. 

District 7: Michael Ryan, a retired educator and substitute teacher, was elected in 2021 to represent southwest Fort Worth ISD, including Benbrook. He currently serves as one of the board’s vice presidents and is seeking a second term.Educator Terry Roach is running against Ryan. He previously ran for Benbrook City Council in 2024.

District 8: Anael Luebanos was first elected in 2017 to represent parts of south Fort Worth ISD. He currently serves as board secretary and is seeking his third term.

District 9: Roxanne Martinez was elected in 2021 to represent an area of Fort Worth ISD stretching from Northside and Riverside through downtown and into the Near Southside. She currently serves as school board president and is seeking her second term.Robyne Kelly, a retired flight attendant and current substitute teacher, is challenging Martinez.Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISDFour seats on the seven-member Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD school board are slated for the ballot. Trustees are elected at large and serve four-year terms.Place 2: Dawn Jordan-Wells was first elected in 2012. She did not file for reelection.John Biggan filed for election. Biggan is a data scientist at ACH Child & Family Services and lectures part-time at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He ran for the U.S. House in 2020, losing in the Democratic primary. 

Jay Fitch filed for election. Fitch has worked as an HEB ISD math teacher since 2003, most recently teaching at Trinity High School. He is retiring from his teaching career in May. 

Place 3: Matt Romero joined the HEB ISD school board in 2013. He currently serves as board president, and he filed for reelection.

Place 4: Becky Ewart was appointed to the board in April 2024 to complete an unexpired term following the death of then-trustee Rochelle Ross. She filed for reelection.

Place 5: Chris Brown was first elected to the HEB ISD board in 2021. He currently serves as board secretary. He filed for reelection. Keller ISDThree seats on the seven-member Keller ISD school board are up for election in May. Trustees are elected at large and serve three-year terms.Place 1: Micah Young was first elected in 2022. He is not seeking reelection.Retiree Randy Campbell is seeking the seat. Campbell served in the U.S. Air Force before beginning his career as an American Airlines pilot in 1990. He retired in 2023. 

Scott Bruce, an accountant, is running for his first term. A self-proclaimed entrepreneur and leadership expert, Bruce recently wrote a children’s book. He is a father of three.

Marissa Bryce, a homemaker, is running. Bryce has spoken at Keller ISD board meetings in support of decisions made by trustees. She is a mother of students in the district.

Place 2: Joni Shaw Smith was elected in 2022. She currently serves as board secretary and is seeking her second term.Jennifer Erickson filed for election. Erickson is the senior director of stakeholder communication and content at Texas Health Resources. She is the mother of a Keller ISD student.

Place 3: Chelsea Kelly was appointed in August 2024 to serve an unexpired term following the resignation of then-trustee Sandi Walker in February 2024. She is seeking her first full term.Jennifer Ramsey filed for election. A former public school educator of 20 years, Ramsey is the mother of two children in the district. She now works as a speech instructor at Tarrant County College. 

Ed Duncan filed for election. Now retired, Duncan was a Tarrant County probation officer for 30 years. He also served in the U.S. Air Force. He previously ran for Keller ISD school board in 2022. 

Phil Perez filed for election. Perez works in sales for Coface. He’s lived in the district for four years. 

Nikki Paris filed for election. Paris is a stay-at-home mom and has lived in the district for nearly seven years. She spoke in favor of the proposal that would split Keller ISD into two districts at a recent board meeting.Northwest ISDTwo seats on the seven-member Northwest ISD school board will be on the ballot. Trustees are elected at large and serve three-year terms.Place 3: Anne Simpson was first elected to the Northwest ISD board in 2013.Joe Washam, who served in the Army for seven years, filed for election. He has served on several Northwest ISD committees and is a PTA member, according to his campaign site.

Jeff Dearing, who is vice president of finance and governance for the Northwest ISD Education Foundation, filed for election.

Place 4: Judy Copp, a retired teacher, was first elected in 2012 and is running for reelection.White Settlement ISDTwo seats on the seven-member White Settlement ISD school board are up for grabs. Trustees are elected at large and serve three-year terms.Place 4: Jeremy Lelek was first elected to the White Settlement ISD board in 2020 and is seeking reelection.John Morton, a master electrician, is challenging Lelek for his seat. He previously sought a seat on the White Settlement ISD school board in 2024.

Place 5: Ben Davis was elected in 2008 and has served since. He currently serves as board president and is seeking another term.Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1.Jacob Sanchez is a senior education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.