The far north Fort Worth neighborhood association that is suing Keller school trustees over a derailed plan to split the district in two are now asking the state to step in to ensure that board meetings are conducted properly.
The Heritage Legal Task Force, formed by the Heritage Home Owners Association, also says it is filing criminal complaints against several trustees alleging Texas Open Meetings Act violations. Keller ISD board members had secretly discussed the idea of splitting the district last winter. Residents on the Alliance side of the district were outraged after the discussions became public, and the board eventually scuttled the plan.
“There is significant disregard for public notice and disclosures to the public,” said Cary Moon, chair of the Heritage Legal Task Force, during a press conference Tuesday. “It is persistent and not transparent.”
Moon declined to say which authorities the plaintiffs contacted over the criminal complaints.
Keller school board president John Birt, vice president Heather Washington and former president Charles Randklev did not immediately respond to emails concerning the allegations. In legal filings, the school board’s attorneys have argued that the trustees never operated outside legal bounds or violated the Open Meetings Act.
Moon said the Heritage Legal Task Force wants the Texas Education Agency to “oversee” the Keller school board to make sure meetings are conducted properly. The regulatory agency oversees public schools in the state. Moon emphasized that the task force is not asking the TEA to take over or manage the district.
The TEA didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.
“There are critical decisions facing our school district right now from financing to programming and overall educating of our children, and this board has shown a total disregard for how it communicates and what it discloses to the public. And so, we believe the TEA has to step in to ensure that the governing of our school board is in compliance with our state law,” Moon said.
Two lawsuits playing out in court seek to remove trustees Randklev, Washington and Birt from office, alleging incompetence and mismanagement.
Another suit, which was transferred to Johnson County, is seeking an injunction to prevent another effort to split the Keller district.
The Keller school board adopted a resolution in May stating that the proposed split was off of the table, but Moon said the board could vote to overturn the resolution with a simple majority.
The suit, calling for removal of Birt, Washington and Randklev, alleges that discussions concerning splitting the district began as early as May 2024, and that nothing was listed on a meeting agenda concerning the proposed split until Jan. 16 of this year.
The Heritage neighborhood encompasses roughly 3,400 homes straddling Heritage Trace Parkway between Riverside Drive and Ray White Road. A GoFundMe effort to raise money for the group’s legal fund had amassed $30,000 as of Tuesday, with a goal of $100,000.
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