Fort Worth city attorney to Texas AG: Let Keller ISD residents vote on proposed split
The city of Fort Worth has voiced its legal opinion on a proposal to split the Keller school district in two.
In a letter sent to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Feb. 27, Fort Worth City Attorney Leann Guzman asked him to interpret the law governing a split to require a vote by residents of the district.
Proponents of the split have argued that the Texas Education Code only mandates a vote if the process is initiated by a petition signed by at least 10% of registered voters in the district. They hope to interpret the law to mean that the vote can be bypassed if the board adopts a resolution to initiate the process.
At the heart of the letter is the definition of the word “initiate,” which Guzman asked Paxton to clarify with regard to its use in the statute.
There is only “one reasonable interpretation,” the letter states, of the three provisions in the Education Code that outline the process of a split, or creation of a new district by detachment.
That interpretation is that a vote is required no matter how the process is started, Guzman argued.
If the school board were able to detach part of the district and create a new one with the adoption of a resolution, Guzman wrote, “then the words ‘initiated by’ … would mean two completely different things within the space of a single sentence.”
Education lawyers have agreed with this interpretation in interviews with the Star-Telegram. Steven Dubner, a Lewisville-based attorney who represents school districts across Texas, said that reading the law in a way that bypasses a vote would be “chaos.”
Fort Worth City council member Alan Blaylock, whose district includes part of the school district, posted the letter to Facebook and announced that he and fellow council members Charlie Lauersdorf and Macy Hill believe the public has the right to vote on the split.
Lauersdorf’s and Hill’s districts also include parts of Keller ISD.
“We firmly believe that if a split were to occur, the public has the right to vote on the matter, and the law supports this interpretation,” Blaylock wrote. “We look forward to the Attorney General’s forthcoming opinion.”
Lauersdorf confirmed that he supports a vote in a text message, citing his “VERY vocal” opposition to the split on his Facebook page.
Hill did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker has expressed her support for a vote on the split, as has Tarrant County commissioners Manny Ramirez and Alisa Simmons.
Guzman’s letter references one sent to Paxton’s office by Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells earlier this month. That letter did not overtly advocate for a particular interpretation, but rather asked Paxton for clarification in order to best advise the County Commissioners Court on the issue.
Dennis Eichelbaum, a Plano-based education lawyer, said Sorrells’ letter attempts to make the issue a “Gordian knot.” For his part, Eichelbaum was among the lawyers who told the Star-Telegram in January that the law is clearly meant to be interpreted to require a vote.
While some residents in the district have expressed support for the split online and in school board meetings, opposition to it has far outweighed their advocacy.
Staff writer Harrison Mantas contributed to this report.
