A Floridian who briefly led one of the nation’s largest school districts will captain Fort Worth ISD while it is under state control.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath appointed longtime Florida educator Peter B. Licata as FWISD’s new leader. Licata, who served as Broward County Public Schools superintendent for less than a year, is now charged with driving rapid academic gains for FWISD’s nearly 68,000 students.
He is Fort Worth’s fourth superintendent in as many years and comes to a district facing similar challenges he faced in Florida.
Alongside the new superintendent, Morath named nine managers who essentially replaced the district’s locally elected trustees. The managers assume governing authority over the district’s nearly $1 billion budget, buildings and what children learn.
Licata served as superintendent of the 236,263-student Broward County Public Schools for 10 months starting in 2023. He resigned and stepped away from day-to-day leadership over health concerns.
Licata spent nearly three decades working in Florida schools, primarily in Palm Beach County, where he rose from classroom teacher and coach to principal and district leader.
After taking the Broward job, he described his approach to equal opportunity as ensuring students receive additional support without lowering academic expectations.
“You can’t raise the floor by lowering the ceiling,” he said in a 2023 interview with South Florida NPR station WLRN.
Broward students saw modest increases in proficiency rates during Licata’s tenure during the 2023-24 school year. His superintendency occurred alongside Florida introducing a new state test that measures progress at the beginning, middle and end of the year.
Palm Beach saw its proficiency rates stay relatively flat between 2015 and 2023 — the time he was in central administration, according to data from the Florida Department of Education.
He served as that district’s regional superintendent overseeing dozens of schools and was part of the leadership focused on improving academic outcomes across a large, diverse student population. Palm Beach County Schools serves roughly 185,000 students.
Hispanic students make up 38.5% of Palm Beach’s enrollment, while Black students make up 28.1% and white students 27%.
Broward County’s enrollment was nearly 40% Latino, 38% Black and 15% white.
Nearly two-thirds of Fort Worth ISD students are Latino, with Black students at 18.6% and white students at 11.3%.
English language learners comprise 18.2% of the Palm Beach district and 14% in Broward. In Fort Worth, they account for 42% of students.
Nearly 4 in 5 FWISD students are from low-income families. Just over half of Broward students are low income, while Palm Beach has 66%.
Licata emphasized student achievement in public statements throughout his career, often pointing to measurable goals — such as improving district academic accountability ratings and expanding access to advanced coursework.
Fort Worth ISD has been on a downward academic trajectory since 2016, when 57% of students were proficient across all subjects — and within striking distance of the state’s rate. In 2025, 34% of students were proficient across all subjects, a 4 percentage-point gain from the previous year.
Licata holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami, a master’s degree from Barry University and a doctorate in global leadership from Lynn University.
His tenure in Broward County was short and unfolded in a district already dealing with instability.
The Broward School Board hired him in summer 2023 after a national search, looking for steadier leadership in a district that had cycled through superintendents and public conflict in the years before his arrival.
Board members approved a three-year contract with a $350,000 base salary and up to $20,000 in performance bonuses tied to academics and progress on the school system’s long-delayed bond program.
His contract negotiations drew public debate. Broward board members rejected Licata’s request for a higher bar to remove him without cause, kept the termination threshold at a simple majority and required him to move from Palm Beach County into Broward.
Licata took over the nation’s sixth-largest school district promising to help Broward regain an A rating from the state and bring steadier leadership to the system.
Less than a year later, in April 2024, he announced his retirement, citing health reasons. He said he reached the decision after discussions with his doctors, his wife and his four adult children.
After Licata announced his plans, the Broward trustees voted the same day to replace him immediately with a deputy superintendent. The speed of that transition drew scrutiny in South Florida as some felt the move was staged and others criticized the lack of transparency, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Trustees ultimately rejected a consulting arrangement with Licata and reduced his salary for his final weeks before his employment ended July 1, 2024.
His exit came as Broward was dealing with possible campus closures tied to long-term enrollment declines, charter school funding disputes and broader questions about district governance and finances, according to the Miami Herald.
His appointment in Fort Worth comes at a similar moment of transition.
Morath ordered the takeover of Fort Worth ISD in October after one campus received five consecutive failing academic ratings under the state’s accountability system.
As superintendent, Licata will lead the district under state oversight, working alongside the managers and conservator appointed by the commissioner.
That role carries significant authority — and pressure.
The new superintendent is tasked with improving academic outcomes across Fort Worth schools, where reading and math performance have lagged behind state averages for years.
Licata steps into a district where roughly one-third of students read on grade level and slightly more than a quarter meet expectations in math, according to recent state testing data.
Fort Worth ISD faces much uncertainty as parents, teachers and community leaders raise concerns over potential employee turnover, changes to instruction and the loss of local control as the state assumes authority over the district.
At the same time, some education and business leaders say the state intervention could bring needed urgency and focus to improving student outcomes.
Licata has not previously worked in Texas schools.
Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez.
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1.
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