In response to complaints, TEA says it is looking into Keller school board allegations
The Texas Education Agency emailed several Keller school district residents on March 11 saying it was investigating allegations of misconduct against the district’s board of trustees.
Following the news in January that board members were seeking to split the district, the TEA received a number of complaints. Multiple people who raised those grievances confirmed receipt of the agency’s response on Facebook on Tuesday. The message included a form letter signed by Naomi Roach from the TEA’s Office of Governance.
While the letter said actions related to district detachment “do not fall within the agency’s purview,” it did say the TEA would look into other issues.
“After a review of your complaint,” the letter read, “the TEA has determined that the concern reported about governance of the district should be reviewed and has referred the matter to the Compliance Review Unit (CRU).”
Parent Katie Woods told the Star-Telegram her complaint to the TEA was related to potential violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act.
First Amendment lawyers told the Star-Telegram that Keller board members broke the law when they discussed splitting the district behind closed doors. Area homeowners have joined a lawsuit against five board members, claiming violations of the Open Meetings Act.
Trustees Joni Shaw Smith and Chelsea Kelly, the only board members who have spoken out against the split, said they were “blindsided” when the idea was brought up during an executive session on Dec. 19.