The news comes after the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office confirmed it had received complaints over Keller ISD’s split talks.
KELLER, Texas — The Texas Education Agency Monday confirmed it’s investigating complaints about the “governance” of Keller ISD following a controversial proposal to split the district.
The proposed split would divide the district along Highway 377, essentially separating students who live in Keller from those who live in Fort Worth.
In the letter sent Monday, which was obtained by WFAA, the TEA said “actions related to the detachment and creation of new school districts are local decision and do not fall within the agency’s purview,” but it was looking into other concerns reported.
“After a review of your complaint, the TEA has determined that the concern reported about governance of the district should be reviewed and has referred the matter to the Compliance Review Unit (CRU),” the letter read.
Two Keller ISD trustees — Joni Shaw Smith and Chelsea Kelly – say they first heard about the proposal to split the district during an executive session of the school board’s Dec. 19 meeting. The Dec. 19 board meeting agenda didn’t include mention of a proposal to split the district. Bill Aleshire, an attorney with the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, previously told WFAA that discussing the issue privately was a violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act.
In January, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office confirmed it had received complaints regarding the Keller ISD school board’s internal discussions about potentially splitting the district. The Keller Police Department also confirmed the department received a report regarding an allegation of Texas Open Meeting Act violations. It forwarded that report to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Integrity Investigations Unit, which handles allegations against elected officials.
Members of a Fort Worth homeowners association also filed a lawsuit against several members of the Keller ISD school board that aims to prevent the board from taking further action to split the district and alleges violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act.
