Camille Rodriguez and Amanda Inay have deep love — and a mountain of pride — for Fort Worth’s Northside community.
For Rodriguez, it’s part of the city where she grew up, graduated from Fort Worth ISD and later made her home.
For Inay, it’s the neighborhood where she spent time as a Fort Worth ISD teacher and where she felt called to return, she said — even after moving to the suburbs.
Now, they’re each vying to represent that same community as the District 1 trustee. Election Day is May 3.
Rodriguez, the incumbent trustee, is running on a platform of stability and consistency. She first served on the Fort Worth ISD board from 2004 to 2008 and was elected for the second time in 2022. Rodriguez, who served as board president between 2023 and 2024, owns a podiatry practice.
“I always focus on the students and the importance of an education and a solid foundation and that’s all I’ll ever do,” Rodriguez said.
Inay — a former teacher at Rufino Mendoza Elementary School who won district teacher of the year in 2023 — is running on a platform centered around literacy, teacher support and rebuilding community trust. Her children attend Fort Worth ISD schools and she currently works as a fourth and fifth grade teacher for Rocketship Public Schools, a charter school system.
“I understand what it means to be a teacher, at the same time I understand what it means to be a parent,” Inay said. “If elected, it’s going to be a powerful lens that I help my fellow trustees look through every day.”
Inay has spent nearly her entire career in the classroom, but not always in Fort Worth ISD. Since 2014 she’s taught for Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Northwest, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISDs and Texas Leadership Charter Academy.
Now working for Rocketship, Inay said her varied experience has given her a clearer view of what systems work and where Fort Worth ISD can improve. Teaching at Rocketship also allows her to run for the school board, she said.
“I’m not going to give up my God-given calling in teaching. I know it’s what I’m supposed to do,” Inay said. “And I also know that running for this board is something I’m supposed to do.”
During Rodriguez’s term, the district experienced top leadership turnover and scrutiny from outside officials. In August 2024, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker spoke at a school board meeting, publicly admonishing then-Superintendent Angélica Ramsey and the board for the lackluster and stagnant state of the district and for losing the public’s trust.
Rodriguez later became the sole trustee to vote against accepting Ramsey’s resignation. Her vote was about ensuring stability and giving leadership ample time to make changes, she said.
“Stability is very important,” Rodriguez said of her desire to keep Ramsey. “Two years is not enough to show what you can do in any career.”
She points to her recent term as a period of strategic alignment: the district hired a new superintendent, adopted a five-year strategic plan, started the school closure process and increased focus on early childhood education.
“We need to do something different,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve been stagnant for 20 years.”
Rodriguez said the board needs to stay the course and let district leadership apply changes already in motion.
She highlighted improvements to accountability and academic strategy under Ramsey and, now, under new Superintendent Karen Molinar.
She also pointed to the district’s recent budget, which was balanced until trustees approved a $17.7 million compensation package in late May — a decision she supported. The raises, she said, were worth the cost and a necessary investment in teachers and staff.
Inay wants a stronger focus on academics and teacher autonomy. If elected, she would encourage Molinar to continue building a sense of trust and transparency and demand that Molinar continue to share student data monthly at board meetings.
“She’s bringing real, raw data. And that’s what we need,” Inay said. “But we have to hold her accountable to it … continuing to expect those monthly reports on student achievement.”
She also wants to revive systems that once worked well, she said, like differentiated teacher training and a mentorship program for new educators.
“Just like students need different instruction, teachers do too,” Inay said. “You shouldn’t be giving the same training to a first-year teacher as you would to someone with 25 years in the classroom.”
School closures — a painful but looming possibility for officials in the face of declining enrollment — represent a major issue in the District 1 race.
Rodriguez said closures are necessary but must be done thoughtfully, with the community’s input.
“That’s all we can do,” she said. “Inform the community and let them make the decisions and see why this is necessary.”
Inay said families still don’t feel like they’re being included in district decisions. That mistrust, she argued, is part of why enrollment continues to drop.
“Our families need to feel like things are being done with them, not to them,” she said. “We’ve got to build trust — and that means involving them in the process every step of the way.”
If elected, Inay said she wants to be a voice for families and teachers alike.
“I came back to this district because I love it,” she said. “I’m not doing this out of spite. All of my experiences have led me to this moment because I could impact far more than the 25, or 50, kids that I teach.”
Rodriguez said her long tenure in the community and on the board gives her the experience to continue pushing the district forward.
“I’ve lived in the same house my whole life. I walk to church, I walk to the park — I know my neighbors,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a tight-knit community and I’m there to support.”
Rodriguez reported holding $8,736 in political contributions, according to a January campaign finance report, the most recently available.
Her updated campaign finance report — and Inay’s first — are due April 3.
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1.
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