“That’s an illegal meeting and it’s subject to criminal penalties,” Attorney Bill Aleshire said.
KELLER, Texas — The community’s discussion around a potential split of the Keller ISD school district is heating up.
Several Keller ISD parents attended Tuesday’s Tarrant County Commissioner’s Court meeting to share their concerns about a district split with county leadership.
“We need representation,” said Keller ISD parent Katherine Woods. “The decision to split Keller is something that needs to be brought to the people.”
Parents took their concerns to the highest level of local government because according to legal experts, the county commissioner’s court could end up having a voice in how a district split might play out.
If there’s a petition to have an election to split the district, the commissioner’s court would have to call the election. However, if the school board itself votes to split the district, there will be no election.
According to trustees Joni Shaw Smith and Chelsea Kelly, they first heard about the proposal to split the district during the executive session of the board’s Dec. 19 meeting.
According to Bill Aleshire, an attorney with the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, an issue that represents a special interest to the public must be discussed publicly. Aleshire spent 12 years as the Travis County judge.
The district’s Dec. 19 agenda didn’t include any mention of a plan to split the district. Discussing it privately was a violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Aleshire said.
“Because they didn’t have that on their meeting notice, they couldn’t legally engage in executive session or discussion of it even just to get their attorney’s advice. That’s an illegal meeting and it’s subject to criminal penalties,” Aleshire said.
Violating the Open Meetings Act, a Class C misdemeanor, could lead to a fine of up to $500 or up to six months in jail. The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office would have to file the charges.
WFAA reached out to a spokesperson for Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells on the matter but did not hear back. Keller ISD School Board President Dr. Charles Randklev didn’t respond to WFAA’s request for comment.
The board is set to discuss the issue during a special meeting on Thursday. Part of the meeting will be in closed session, and the board plans to give remarks afterward.
Aleshire says the board is limited on what it can legally discuss in closed session.
“They can have a discussion with their attorney to get advice on legal issues, but they cannot use that as an excuse to go into a meeting to discuss the pros and cons of splitting the district,” Aleshire said.
Aleshire said any discussion beyond attorney advice held in closed session could be another violation of the Open Meetings Act.