MARLIN, Texas (KXXV) — Marlin ISD has regained local control of its school board for the first time since 2016, transitioning to a seven-member board with a majority of locally elected and appointed trustees.
- Marlin ISD has regained control of its school board for the first time since 2016, transitioning to a seven-member board with locally elected and appointed trustees
- The district’s return to local governance was made possible by significant academic improvements
- The appointment of Marlin ISD board of managers is set to expire in January of 2026
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“Being able to turn it back over to the city is a momentous event, it’s huge,” said Marlin ISD Chief Academic Officer, Niki Edwards.
Marlin ISD is celebrating a major milestone — for the first time since 2016, the district is transitioning to a seven-member school board with a majority of locally elected and appointed board trustees.
Previously, the board was made of majority state-appointed managers — giving neighbors no say on what goes on in the district.
25 News spoke to Marlin ISD about the importance of having local leaders.
"It’s their city, it’s their kids — they should have a say in how they’re educated, when they’re educated and what we used to educate them," Edwards said.
"It’s just really important that each area within a city has someone that can speak for them."
Within the past four years, the district says they’ve seen an improvement in academic outcome — one of the main reasons they were able to regain local leadership.
“We just had to become academically acceptable — the loss of the control came from various factors but one of the most impacting factors is that it had been a failing school district for many years,” Edwards said.
This is something the districts said they were committed to changing.
"We didn’t just want to be academically acceptable, we wanted to get to a B rating at least," Edwards said.
In recent years — the district has also regained accreditation.
“That’s huge, that means your diploma now means something if you’re a graduate of Marlin ISD,” Edwards said.
The district is giving credit to its students for making it all possible.
"Shoutout to my Marlin ISD students for showing up and showing out and being the ones to ultimately get it restored,” Edwards said.
More information on the transition can be seen below.
