Keller mayor blasts law firm for plans to sue over school board election rules
Keller mayor Armin Mizani blasted a Dallas law firm’s plans to sue the Keller school district over the at-large makeup of the board, citing an achievement gap among minority students.
“This is perhaps the most idiotic thing I’ve read in a while,” he wrote.
“Rather than using this discussion as an opportunity to focus on student outcomes, educational opportunities, and an antiquated and broken school funding system, some who live outside this district would rather use this as an opportunity to divide and infer that trustees, elected at large by every voter in the district, have some nefarious intent.
“Although the School District is independent of the 9 cities that make up KISD, I hope the school district defends this would be frivolous lawsuit in its entirety and in doing so, demand 100% repayment for all costs of defense on behalf of taxpayers.”
Mizani also said in a text message to the Star-Telegram: “This discussion and consideration by the KISD board should be about the students and educators, and ensuring a strong education for all 34,000 students. Anything other than that is a distraction.”
Some of the residents who responded agreed with Mizani while others said the school board wasn’t being transparent about a plan to split the Keller school district.
“Maybe the ones stirring it up can pay back all those court fees,” one resident wrote.
Another resident said, “Despite my issues with the KISD board, this claim is ridiculous.”
But another resident asked how Fort Worth mayor Mattie Parker and council member Charles Lauersdorf feel about the potential split. Parker has stated that she is opposed and called on the school board to allow Keller school district residents to vote.
Lauersdorf posted in response to Mizani: “I’ve made it quite clear I don’t support the split. Nor do I support the process that’s taken place. There has been zero communication and zero transparency, resulting in even more distrust of those responsible for this mess. Mayor Parker has also made it clear she opposes any split.”
On Friday, William Brewer, founding partner of Brewer Attorneys and Partners, said several Keller school district residents contacted the law firm about challenging the school board’s election rules in which trustees are elected to at-large seats for three-year terms.
The inquiries came after a recent plan to split the district in half along the Denton Highway and the Union Pacific Railroad track as the dividing line. Five of the seven school trustees live in Keller.
The proposed plan would keep the higher performing schools in Keller, Colleyville and Southlake while the lower-performing schools, mostly in Fort Worth, would be in a newly created district.
Brewer was successful in getting several North Texas school districts, including Grand Prairie, Carrollton-Farmers Branch and Lewisville to move away from at-large districts.