Special prosecutors will evaluate whether Keller ISD trustees violated state open meetings laws — and whether those alleged violations warrant removal from office.
A judge appointed a district attorney and special prosecutors to represent Texas in a dispute brought by a north Fort Worth group of homeowners seeking the removal of Keller ISD trustees.
The appointment, formalized in a Dec. 8 court order, names Johnson County District Attorney Timothy M. Good as lead counsel for the state in a lawsuit alleging that several Keller ISD trustees violated the Texas Open Meetings Act while pursuing a now-abandoned plan to split the district in two.
Good also deputized a team of special prosecutors, including Fort Worth attorney Dee J. Kelly Jr., to assist in the case.
“This is very good news for us,” Cary Moon, a former Fort Worth City Council member and chairman of the Heritage Homeowners Association legal task force, said during a press conference this month regarding updates to the case. “As I said, we’ll have our day in court.”
The lawsuit targets board President John Birt, trustee Heather Washington and outgoing board member Charles Randklev, alleging they conducted Keller ISD business outside public view through closed-door meetings, encrypted messaging and improperly approved consultants, all in violation of state transparency laws.
Keller ISD declined to comment on the litigation, citing pending legal action. Birt, Washington and Randklev did not respond to requests for comment.
The suit stems from a failed proposal to split Keller ISD along Denton Highway, a plan that sparked months of public backlash, student walkouts, multiple lawsuits and the resignation of former Superintendent Tracy Johnson.
District officials abandoned the proposal in March, citing financial barriers tied largely to how more than $700 million in bond debt could be divided.
The Heritage Legal Task Force was formed earlier in response to what members viewed as a breakdown in trust between the trustees and Keller ISD residents, Moon said.
“From the beginning, this community effort has been a legal matter, not a political matter,” he said. “Many of us voted for these trustees, donated to their campaigns and welcomed them into our homes, only to feel betrayed by actions that violated the Texas Open Meetings Act.”
The group raised more than $70,000 for the legal challenge, Moon said.
Kyle Carney, a Keller ISD parent and attorney advising the task force, said the state’s decision to appoint special prosecutors signals that the allegations warrant closer scrutiny.
“They had the option not to accept this case,” Carney said. “The fact that they did, and appointed special prosecutors, tells us the evidence was serious enough to move forward.”
Randklev, who resigned this month to run for Keller City Council, is still listed in the suit, Moon added.
Trustee Chris Coker disputed the task force’s characterization of the case in a statement posted to Facebook, saying the appointment of a special prosecutor does not indicate wrongdoing or the existence of evidence.
“The appointment of a special prosecutor does not mean there is a case,” Coker wrote. “It does not mean evidence exists. It most certainly does not reflect any finding of wrongdoing.”
Coker also wrote he would welcome sworn testimony and called for additional depositions, including his own and those of trustees who opposed the split.
“If this task force were truly committed to transparency, it would depose all relevant parties,” Coker wrote in the post. “I doubt that will happen, and at this point, I would be scared to depose all of us as well.”
A second ongoing Keller ISD-related lawsuit, currently stayed, seeks to prevent the board from taking further action toward splitting the district.
Though district officials have said the district will not revisit the split proposal, Moon said the task force does not view the matter as resolved.
“An email doesn’t codify anything,” he said. “They can vote any Tuesday to detach.”
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1.
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