Keller trustee candidates talk about transgender bathrooms, guns on campus

In addition to answering questions on school finance and teacher workloads, six school board candidates running for the Keller school board discussed some hotly debated topics in Texas public education at a forum April 25 at the Keller ISD Education Center.

Peiman Montazeri and Chris Roof are vying for Place 4, which is up for grabs since Board President Craig Allen withdrew from the race. Frank Arban, Candy Bruton, Bev Dixon and Sherry Simon are running for Place 5, which has been vacant since last year when Jo Lynn Haussmann moved out of the district. All candidates attended the Q&A session sponsored by the Keller ISD Council of PTAs and moderated by the Tarrant County League of Women Voters.

Audience members submitted written questions, which moderator Georgia Kidwell asked.

Candidates differ on transgender bathroom issue

One question asked where the candidates stand on the transgender bathroom issue.

Arban said that the decision of which bathroom to use was best left to the individual. In a district the size of Keller, with close to 35,000 students, statistics would indicate there would be at least 100 who identify as transgender, he said.

“They’re trying to live their lives as authentically as possible, so I think they should be allowed to do so,” Arban said.

Bruton said she was concerned about safety issues and that there should be single person private restrooms available.

Dixon said district officials must wait to see what happens with the bathroom bills currently under consideration in Austin. She said that Keller schools already work with transgender students so they have a bathroom and locker room changing area where they feel comfortable.

“Transgender people already have a hard enough life. Let them use the bathroom they identify with, ” Simon said.

Montazeri said most of the concerns are based on fear of the unknown, and most of that is coming from parents. He said that kids are more resilient and times are changing. All children should be protected, transgender or not, he said.

Roof said he believes a compassionate approach is necessary and supports the way Keller schools have handled the issue. He advocated waiting to see what the state may do while keeping safety of students the top priority.

No support for guns on campus

Another question asked if teachers or other school staff members should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus.

No one supported the idea of classroom teachers packing heat, but they differed on arming security staff and police on campus.

Montazeri, Arban and Simon opposed the routine carrying of a weapon by anyone on school grounds.

Arban said he was concerned about the weapon falling into the wrong hands or “people sometimes just snap.”

Simon said that guns don’t belong anywhere in or around schools and school events and there should be no tolerance for the carrying of weapons.

Montazeri said having armed security and police at school gave the impression that schools were unsafe.

Bruton, Dixon and Roof supported trained security staff members, along with police, carrying weapons on campus.

Roof said that school security officers can be trained in weapon use and police officers are trained in how to handle a possible shooter at a school. He thinks that an armed presence could prevent some tragedies and noted the recent incident of a Keller district middle school student bringing a gun to school in his backpack. While there was no bad intent apparent in that situation, school officials should be prepared “with the access to weapons we have in Texas.”

For more on the candidates’ qualifications for office and their views on the greatest challenges facing Keller schools, look for The Star-Telegram’s voters guide.

Election day is Saturday.

This story was originally published May 2, 2017 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Keller trustee candidates talk about transgender bathrooms, guns on campus."