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Parents and activists are expressing concern as a Fort Worth ISD teacher is under investigation following another round of conservative social media backlash.
Ernie Moran is a teacher at Western Hills High School, the same campus from which Shayma Alzubi was recently reassigned after right-wing social media attacks targeting past Facebook and Instagram posts. Following Alzubi’s reassignment, the Observer reported that some of the accounts targeting Alzubi had refocused on Moran because of past online activity supporting progressive causes.
After online attacks led by Tarrant County GOP Executive Committee member and Dallas Express freelancer Carlos Turcios, Fort Worth ISD announced last week it had opened an investigation into Moran. In a statement, a district spokesperson said an investigation had been opened but added, “The district cannot comment further on the pending investigation.”
Turcios has posted multiple times about Moran’s political activity. Specifically, he has called Moran a “far-left activist” teacher whose website “features the LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter, and a foreign flag.” The website in question is a since-updated Google course page that included a syllabus for Moran’s Spanish class. It featured a since-removed animated illustration with the flag of Ecuador, a Black Lives Matter poster and a Pride flag. Moran’s past social media posts and participation in Democratic political rallies also drew the ire of right-wing activists.
“Why is the ISD allowing Moran to have a BLM, LGBTQ presentation for students?,” Turcios wrote on X.
Posts appear to show Moran speaking at Bernie Sanders’ “Fight Oligarchy” rally at Dickies Arena last year, along with remarks at a Fort Worth City Council meeting in which he called the GOP a “fascist” party.
The right-wing influencer, who recently stomped on a ripped apart Pride flag outside the Tarrant County Courthouse, also drew the attention of national right-wing influencers like Libs of TikTok to Alzubi’s appointment in May. After sharing pictures of the district’s announcement of Alzubi, who was pictured wearing a hijab, Turcios began posting screenshots of her past posts expressing pro-immigrant views and accused her of defending sharia law. Fort Worth ISD announced Alzubi’s reassignment shortly after.
Teachers, parents and activists have strongly condemned the reassignment of Alzubi.
‘A precedent has been created’
Sabrina Ball is a local activist and a FWISD parent. She has been active in advocacy around the district for some time, and said the latest investigation didn’t come as a shock.
“Carlos had his opening; he’s been gunning for Ernie for years,” Ball said.
Before the latest round of posts, Turcios took aim at Moran on X multiple times in 2024 and 2025 for his classroom website. This instance, however, came at a time when right-wing circles have focused on FWISD in the wake of Alzubi’s reassignment. Compared to a 2025 tweet that drew just over 1,000 views, a post from May highlighting Moran’s past activity has well over 111,000 views.
It also comes at a time when the district is under the control of both a state-appointed board of directors and a superintendent, following years of low test scores culminating in conservative Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath’s announcement of a conservatorship in October.
“They don’t represent teachers and students anymore in Fort Worth ISD and families; they represent Mike Morath and Greg Abbott,” Ball said.
Teachers in Fort Worth ISD have had to reapply for their jobs and comply with new guidelines since the state takeover. Some have voiced concerns about morale under the control of the new board, with one telling Texas state representatives in May that “the house is on fire” at a committee hearing.
“Shock and anger” were the words Zach Leonard used to describe his reaction to the investigation into Moran. Leonard is a parent and the president of Families Organizing and Responding to Takeover. He said teachers are already leaving the district in large numbers.
“We have some amazing educators and administrators right now that are fleeing Fort Worth ISD, and in large numbers, not only due to what’s going on over the last week or two, but really what’s gone on over the last year or more,” Leonard said. “So we really need this district and our new superintendent to take a serious look at teacher retention and morale.”
Leonard said there is “a precedent that has been created” in the wake of Alzubi’s reassignment and added that Fort Worth ISD isn’t the only school district dealing with similar issues. A Wylie ISD principal recently resigned following online backlash over an unsanctioned handing out of hijabs and Qurans at Wylie East High School.
He called the accusations of political influence “unfounded,” but said he is optimistic about Moran’s chances with the investigation.
“It’s very sad, and so I hope that the district does the right thing and reinstates Miss Alzubi, and ends the investigation into Ernie Moran,” Leonard said.
‘Going to be scared’
Kristin Klade, a local pastor and parent of FWISD students, was a member of a multifaith coalition that advocated for Alzubi’s reinstatement at a late May press conference. She is involved in local advocacy efforts and also serves as a board member for FORT.
She called the ability of right-wing X circles to target teachers “extremely concerning” and said the district needs to clarify its social media policies.
“If we’re looking at teachers’ personal Facebook pages and anything they’ve ever posted, and having kind of vague criteria for why we’re investigating them,” Klade said. “That seems like a really dangerous thing to start doing.”
According to the Fort Worth ISD employee handbook, if an employee’s “use of electronic media interferes with the employee’s ability to effectively perform his or her job duties, the employee is subject to disciplinary action.” The handbook does not reference political or religious statements.
The investigation will likely deal a further blow to morale across the district, she said, adding that the X-fueled investigation seems targeted.
“I’m really, really scared about a kind of chilling effect happening,” Klade said. “Teachers, first of all, we know that a lot of teachers are either leaving FWISD or considering leaving — now teachers are seeing their colleagues, who they love, being in my opinion unfairly targeted for something like posting on their personal Facebook page.”
“So teachers are going to be scared; they’re going to leave. They feel like Democrats, for instance, are not welcome in the district.”
