The district is planning to sell the land less than a year after it purchased the lot to stop a motel project.
KELLER, Texas — The Keller Independent School District plans to sell land near Basswood Elementary School, according to an email from district leadership to Fort Worth city leaders.
As district leaders consider splitting the district between Highway 377, Fort Worth city leaders are planning to rezone 23 of the district’s properties located on the Fort Worth side of the district.
City leaders would rezone the sites for community use only to prevent further development of school sites without council approval.
City leaders approved the rezoning proposal this week. A final vote is expected next month.
Following council’s approval, Keller ISD leaders emailed city leaders to express opposition to the rezoning plan, according to emails provided to WFAA by councilmember Lauersdorf.
In one email, Keller ISD Chief Operating Officer John Allison asked Fort Worth Assistant City Manager Dana Burghdoff to reconsider rezoning certain properties the district intends to sell. In the email, Allison specifically mentioned land near Basswood Elementary School, saying it is one of the properties the district is “considering for potential future sale.”
Allison added that the land near Basswood Elementary School is “the only property we intend to list shortly” and said, “We will be particularly selective regarding potential buyers and their intended use of the property.”
In another email, Keller ISD Interim Superintendent Dr. Cory Wilson formally asked Lauersdorf and other city leaders for “no zoning changes… at this time.”
Lauersdorf told WFAA it would be wrong for the district to sell any property ahead of a potential split.
“There shouldn’t be any discussion of selling any properties quickly. The analogy is you have this divorce that’s out there looming, and now you want to start divesting yourself of assets. We should figure out the divorce first, and then we can figure out assets and how things get equally divided,” Lauersdorf said.
During Thursday’s board meeting, Board President Dr. Charles Randklev was absent due to a family commitment, leaders said.
Wilson took a moment during the meeting to address the potential sale of the property near Basswood Elementary.
“We do intend to market the Basswood property for sale,” Wilson said. “It would be irresponsible for the district not to try and return as much capital into our reserves as possible.”
If a split were to happen, it would be up to county commissioners to divide the district’s assets. Lauersdorf said any sales that occur prior to a split raise concerns about equity.
“It’s ultimately school board land,” Lauersdorf said. “The big question is what would happen to the money how would it be divided if it were to happen. Would that money be spent on the other side? Again, just more questions.”
The Fort Worth City Council is set to vote on the rezoning change on March 25 for final action.
