Mike Morath (born 1977) is an American software developer and investor. He is the commissioner of the
Texas Education Agency
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States. . Prior to joining the agency, he served as a
trustee
Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...
for the
Dallas independent school District
The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas (USA). It operates schools in much of Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and the seventeenth-largest in the U ...
, where he advocated for school reform and
home-rule
Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...
. Morath began his career in the technology sector.
Early life
Morath was born in 1977 and was raised, for a time, in a coal mining town close to
Western Virginia
Western Virginia is a geographic region in Virginia comprising the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia. Generally, areas in Virginia located west of, or (in many cases) within, the piedmont region are considered part of western Virginia.
T ...
. His family moved to North Texas, where he attended
Garland High School
Garland High School is a high school located in Garland, Texas, which serves grades 9-12. It is a part of the Garland Independent School District. The school is a member of the AP program, the IB program, and is known for its football team, the ...
, a public school in
Garland
A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance.
Etymology
From the ...
, a suburb of
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Texas. Morath had an interest in software development as early as age six when he wrote his first computer program. In high school, he developed a program to analyze his high school football team's offensive play-calling strategy.
After graduating from Garland High School in 1995, Morath attended George Washington University.
He joined
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...
, a mostly African-American
fraternity
A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
and was a part of the Black Student Union, serving as director of communications.
He graduated from George Washington with a degree in
business administration
Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...
, completing his
bachelor's
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...
in two-and-a-half years.
Career
After George Washington, Morath formed a software startup company that eventually failed.
He then founded Minute Menu Systems,
a company that provided technical and logistical support to child care programs as it relates to a federal food assistance program for low-income families.
Board of trustees
In 2011, Morath ran unopposed for a seat on the Board of Trustees to the
Dallas independent school District
The Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD or DISD) is a school district based in Dallas, Texas (USA). It operates schools in much of Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and the seventeenth-largest in the U ...
(DISD), representing District 7, which includes North Dallas and
Lakewood. He decided to resign his position as CEO of Minute Menu Systems. In May 2011,
he joined the board of what is the second-largest school district in Texas.
As a trustee in 2013, Morath advocated allowing the district to the funnel savings gained from a proposed voluntary accelerated three-year graduation plan for high school students to keep full-day
pre-kindergarten
Pre-kindergarten (also called Pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...
programs funded. The programs were facing a return to a half-day schedule as a result of a 2011 state legislation that cut a combined $200 million from the school's budget.
Morath was re-elected as a board member for District 2 representing parts of North and East Dallas. He was initially opposed by Sabrina Martinez Harrison, who withdrew on March 3, 2014. Morath entered the May 10 election unopposed.
At some point during his tenure as a trustee, Morath sold his company, Minute Menu,
and formed Morath Investments.
Morath was also the originator of a
home-rule
Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...
movement in the DISD that began in early 2014. His idea was to use a never-before used provision in Texas' charter school legislation to the convert the school district into a "home-rule charter" system, allowing DISD more autonomy and self-governance. Although intended to allow the district the freedom to enact reforms, the idea drew criticism from some, especially the local teacher's unions,
Texas State Teachers Association
Texas State Teachers Association, or TSTA, is the oldest education organization in Texas, affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA). TSTA is led by a full-time state president and vice president, a board of directors, and a democrat ...
and
Alliance AFT, who opposed the possibility of "fewer safeguards for teachers' jobs, lower pay or longer school years without a pay increase."
The idea, as originally envisioned by Morath, never became realized.
In November 2015, Governor
Greg Abbott
Gregory Wayne Abbott (born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and former jurist serving as the 48th governor of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 50th Tex ...
named Morath the presiding officer on the new Texas Commission on Next Generation Assessments and Accountability. The commission was created by the
Texas Legislature
The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...
and consisted of a total of ten people. Besides Morath, the commission also includes three additional people appointed by the
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
, three by
Lieutenant Governor
A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
Dan Patrick Dan Patrick may refer to:
* Dan Patrick (ice hockey) (born 1938), Canadian ice hockey player
* Dan Patrick (politician) (born 1950), Lieutenant Governor of Texas and political and sports radio journalist
* Dan Patrick (sportscaster) (born 1956), Ame ...
and three by Speaker
Joe Straus
Joseph Richard Straus III (born September 1, 1959) is an American politician who served as the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 2009 to 2019. A Republican, he represented District 121, which comprises northeastern Bexar County, ...
. The commission is tasked with proposing "changes to the state's method of
student assessment and school accountability."
A month later, on December 14, the governor named Morath to replace
Michael L. Williams
Michael Lawrence Williams (born May 31, 1953) is an American educator and attorney who is the former Education Commissioner of the U.S. state of Texas, in which capacity he was leader of the Texas Education Agency. Williams was appointed to th ...
, who retired, as Texas Commissioner of Education, the head of the
Texas Education Agency
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) is the branch of the government of Texas responsible for public education in Texas in the United States. .
His appointment to the position was criticized by those that opposed his attempt to establish home rule control over the DISD.
Commissioner
In January 2016, Morath left his position on the DISD board to become the Commissioner of Education. He was sworn in on January 4, to lead the agency that is responsible for the state's 1,200 school districts.
As commissioner, Morath has, in several instances, exercised his power to intervene in the governance of under-performing school districts. In February 2016, he appointed Judy Castleberry as
conservator of the
South San Antonio independent school District
South San Antonio Independent School District (South San ISD, SSAISD) is a public school district based in San Antonio, Texas (USA). The district serves southern and southwestern portions of the city. For the school year (2015-2016) the district se ...
. In March, following an investigation by the agency, Morath appointed Sharon Doughty as conservator of the
Edgewood independent school District in
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
. He also announced that this would be followed by appointments to replace the vacant superintendent position and a board of managers to replace the elected members of the board of trustees. The new board of managers and superintendent were sworn in on May 24. In the case of the
Hearne independent school District
Hearne Independent School District is a public school district based in Hearne, Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. A ...
in May 2017, however, Morath reversed his own decision, made earlier in the year to appoint a replacement for the school board, allowing them to stay in power.
Morath has used his authority to intervene in the governance of
Houston ISD
The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...
or attempted to do so for several years. A state-appointed conservator has monitored the state's largest district since September 2016 and was given expanded authority in March 2019, stopping the district's elected board from completing their search for a permanent superintendent. Low performance in one of over 200 schools in HISD also resulted in Morath deciding to pursue appointing a board of managers, one of the options allowed under state law, despite the district's relatively high B rating. A state judge blocked Morath from replacing the district's elected board in January 2020. Following a 2018 finding by the U.S. Department of Education that Texas violated federal law regarding treatment of students with disabilities, TEA investigators in September 2020 again recommended state oversight after finding problems in the district's special education department.
In early 2016, following a glitch that erased the answers students inputted as part of a computerized state assessment test, Morath warned that the agency could reconsider its contract with the company,
Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service (ETS), founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization. It is headquartered in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, but has a Princeton address.
ETS develops var ...
(ETS), which administers the
State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness
The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, commonly referred to as its acronym STAAR ( ), is a series of standardized tests used in Texas public primary and secondary schools to assess a student's achievements and knowledge learned ...
(STAAR). Calling the error "unacceptable," Morath announced his agency will impose a $20.7 million fine on ETS. He also announced that the test will not be used to determine whether students can advance to the fifth or eighth grades, as per usual.
In June 2020, Morath's decision to permit schools to reopen during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
and not mandate
face coverings was criticized by Zeph Capo who, as president of the Texas American Federation of Teachers, represents 65,000 teachers and staff at the state's schools.
Personal life
At the time of his election to the board of trustees of the DISD in 2011, Morath was engaged to Laura Vondra, an
optometrist
Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care.
In the Uni ...
.
They are now married and have four children.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morath, Mike
Living people
Political office-holders in Texas
People from Virginia
School board members in Texas
Texas Education Agency
1977 births