Keller school board has a new president as new members take their seats
John Birt has been elected president of the Keller school board, defeating Chelsea Kelly on a 4-3 vote during a special meeting Wednesday morning to canvass the May 3 election results and swear in new trustees. Birt succeeds Charles Randklev.
Birt and Kelly were at odds over a now abandoned plan to split the district along the border of Fort Worth and Keller, with Kelly opposing the idea and calling out board members who supported it, saying that she and former trustee Joni Smith were “blindsided” when they heard about the plan.
On March 14, Randklev announced that the board was abandoning a plan to split the district because of financial concerns. On Thursday, the board will consider a resolution abandoning the creation of a new district by detachment.
Birt and Kelly did not speak to the audience following the board reorganization. Birt is serving the third year of his second term. He was also on the board from 1996-99.
The other officers are Vice President Heather Washington, who defeated Kelly on a 4-3 vote, and newly elected Randy Campbell as secretary. He won 7-0. Trustee Jennifer Erickson took her seat in Place 2. She defeated Shaw Smith in the May 3 election.
The board officers were elected following an executive session that lasted for about 40 minutes.
Before the new board members took their oath of office, three speakers from the audience called on the trustees to choose Kelly as the next board president.
Stewart Rennie chastised the trustees who supported splitting the district.
“I told you during the February meeting that you already lost the election,” he said.
Another speaker, Denise Marroquin, told trustees that the people have spoken.
“Not the Republican people, not the Democrat people, but we, the people,” she said. “They came out and voted because they weren’t happy with what you proposed,” she said.
She said that the trustees needed to get a temperature from the people. “It wasn’t just the west side. Keller didn’t like it either,” Marroquin said.
The board is still facing a lawsuit filed by a district resident and joined by the Heritage Homeowners Association that alleges Open Meetings Act violations.
On May 7, a judge ordered Randklev and former trustee Micah Young to provide records related to their alleged efforts to conceal a plan to split the district.
This story was originally published May 14, 2025 at 12:44 PM.