Hillwood to Keller school board: Stop using ‘Alliance ISD’ for new district made by split
Hillwood Development Co. asked the Keller school board to stop using the term “Alliance ISD” in reference to the new district to be created by a proposed split, according to a letter sent to the board’s attorney obtained by the Star-Telegram through an open records request.
But the board’s lawyer did not advise his clients of the letter before two meetings in January when the term was used during discussions of the proposal, according to two board members who oppose the split.
The move to split Keller ISD in two has been met with fierce opposition by parents, students and residents who say it will not fix the district’s financial woes, as proponents claim, and will ultimately divide the district along racial lines. Students from the district’s high schools organized a walkout earlier this month to protest.
Hillwood is the owner of the federally registered service mark “Alliance,” according to the letter, which was sent by the Fort Worth law firm Kelly Hart & Hallman to the school board’s lawyer on Jan. 13.
The Keller school board is represented by Tim Davis of the Dallas-based firm Jackson Walker. He has been paid at least $256,900 by the district since 2023, according to financial records posted online.
Kelly Hart & Hallman has also been retained by a legal task force established by the Heritage Neighborhood Association to represent it in its opposition to the split. Heritage is a Hillwood-developed community that encompasses roughly 3,400 homes straddling Heritage Trace Parkway between Riverside Drive and Ray White Road.
“Alliance is not a geographic location, but rather is a trademark-protected real estate development controlled by Hillwood,” the letter states. “Hillwood is the owner of over thirty federally registered trademarks incorporating the Alliance mark.”
In the letter, Cheryl Leb, a partner at Kelly Hart & Hallman, explained that Hillwood was not taking a position on the issue of a split, saying that the company’s only concern was the use of the term “Alliance ISD.”
Trustees Micah Young, who supports the split, and Chelsea Kelly, who opposes it, both used the term in a special meeting on Jan. 16.
Kelly and board Secretary Joni Shaw Smith told the Star-Telegram that the board was not advised of the letter before the two meetings in January. They had to ask Davis during the executive session at the Jan. 30 meeting if it was true that Hillwood sent the letter.
Davis and a spokesperson for the board did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Leb declined to comment. A spokesperson for Hillwood did not immediately respond to an email asking if further action would be taken as a result of the trustees’ continued use of the term.
Opponents of the split have criticized trustees promoting the split for what they call a lack of transparency in the process.
Fort Worth city council member Charlie Lauersdorf, whose district includes the Keller schools, confirmed to the Star-Telegram in early January that a trustee told him the board initially didn’t want to disclose the plan publicly in order to avoid public outcry.
Trustees Smith and Kelly said they were “blindsided” by the proposal when they first heard about it during an executive session on Dec. 19.
Lawyers specializing in open government law told the Star-Telegram that the board’s discussion of the split during that session likely violated the Texas Open Meetings Act. A topic of such interest to the public should have been listed on the agenda for the session to comply with the law, they said.
The way proponents of the split have interpreted the Texas Education Code governing the detachment and creation of a new district is incorrect, according to education lawyers consulted by the Star-Telegram. Supporters read the law to mean the board can bypass a public vote on the split by adopting a resolution to initiate the process.
On Feb. 13, Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells sent a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asking him to clarify the “grammatically ambiguous wording” in the statutes.
Other stakeholders have taken a more lighthearted approach to the “Alliance ISD” terminology.
After news of the split broke in early January, a still unknown person started a parody Alliance ISD Facebook page to poke fun at the proposal.
And one district mom who works as a graphic designer started an online shop selling hoodies, T-shirts and mugs emblazoned with the satirical district’s logo and opposition slogans.
This story was originally published February 20, 2025 at 3:32 PM.
