Fort Worth HOA joins suit against Keller ISD trustees, alleges they discussed split in secret
The Heritage Homeowners Association in far north Fort Worth joined a lawsuit on March 3 against members of the Keller school board, alleging that they violated the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) when they met in private to discuss a plan to split the district.
The goal of the suit is to stop the board from moving forward with the plan. Five of Keller’s seven trustees support a proposal to break the district in half, using U.S. 377 as the dividing line. Residents in the district, particularly those on the Fort Worth side west of 377, have been vehemently against that.
Members of the Heritage Legal Task Force, represented by Fort Worth-based Kelly Hart & Hallman, intervened in a lawsuit filed in January in Tarrant County District Court by Keller parent Matthew Mucker. His petition seeks to stop the school board from “convening in any manner that violates TOMA.”
Mucker is listed as the plaintiff in court filings. The primary defendants in the original petition are all seven board trustees: President Charles Randklev, John Birt, Joni Shaw Smith, Micah Young, Chelsea Kelly, Chris Coker and Heather Washington. The Keller school district is a third-party defendant.
The intervention brought forth by the Heritage group names only Randklev, Birt, Young, Coker and Washington as defendants. The intervenors are the Heritage Homeowners Association and residents Cary Moon, the chair of the legal task force, and Brian Black, the HOA president.
The five defendants did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The board’s attorney, Tim Davis of Fort Worth, declined to comment citing the pending litigation.
Speaking at a press conference in the Heritage Homeowners Association clubhouse on Monday, Moon laid out the group’s goals.
The plaintiffs seek to prevent the board from taking any action in its plan to split the district. Further, it seeks a temporary restraining order, a temporary injunction and a permanent injunction that keeps the board from enforcing or taking any actions supported by violations of the open meetings act.
It also asks that the board be denied the right to protect communication with attorney Davis because “his hiring was never noticed or approved by the board.”
Heritage’s intervention further alleges the five board members are spending funds derived from Keller school taxes to pay Davis.
In addition to judgments against the five defendants, the intervention seeks to recoup attorneys’ fees and court costs. Moon said joining the suit as an intervenor as opposed to filing a new suit “saves us precious time in procedural matters.”
The Heritage community is situated on both sides of Heritage Trace Parkway and comprises approximately 3,200 homes and 8,000 residents.
“I felt shocked, betrayed and surprised,” said Moon, a former Fort Worth city council member, recalling his reaction when he first heard about the proposed split.
Moon said he has not reached out to the five school board members named in the lawsuit. It’s a legal issue, he said, and he doesn’t want to make it personal.
Moon’s co-plaintiff Black moved to Heritage in 2003 specifically to be in the Keller school district, he said. He has a son who is a fourth grader at Bette Perot Elementary School and a son who is a sophomore at Timber Creek High School. His daughter graduated last year from Timber Creek.
“We want to make sure the Keller ISD operates in a lawful manner,” he said.
Since residents announced the formation of the Heritage Legal Task Force on Feb. 11, the group has raised more than $65,000 to support its efforts to stop the split.
Star-Telegram reporters Liz Campbell, Harrison Mantas and Cody Copeland contributed to this story.
This story was originally published March 3, 2025 at 7:25 PM.