Keller ISD: Moms launch petitions demanding residents vote on future of Keller school district

The outside of this Keller ISD Education Center in Keller. Katie Woods and Amy Galilio moved to the Keller school district because of its many programs and highly recommended activities for their children. But when the two moms learned that several Keller school trustees discussed a plan to split the district along the border between Fort Worth and Keller in a closed session during a Dec. 19 special meeting, they launched petitions on change.org , calling on the school board to allow residents to vote and to have a say in the district's future. The Tarrant County district attorney has received complaints that trustees violated the Open Meetings Act when they discussed the plan, which was not listed on the meeting agenda. The plan involves splitting the district at the Union Pacific Railroad tracks along Denton Highway, which is the border between Fort Worth and Keller. The schools in the Fort Worth portion would be in a newly-formed district called Alliance while the schools in Keller, Southlake and Colleyville would remain in the Keller school district. Both petitions have over 1,000 signatures each. Woods' petition opposes splitting the district without citizen input. "We, who are signing this petition want the board to recognize the wishes of both potential districts in negotiations of a split. We also would like such a decision to be finalized by a vote of the citizens within the current Keller ISD according to the state law," Woods wrote in her petition. It had 1,723 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon. Woods and her family moved to the Heritage neighborhood in 2020. She said her children are thriving in the fifth and seventh grades in the Keller schools. Both children are on a summer swim team and have friends throughout the district, she said. Woods also described how she is involved with scouting programs in which she works with students throughout the district. She is demanding transparency and a chance to vote . Galilio moved to the Keller school district from Abilene in 2011. Her petition also calls on the school board to let residents vote. She said the petition doesn't necessarily oppose the idea to split the district, but seeks to find out how many want the school board to call for a vote on the district's future. There were 2,741 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon. Residents haven't gotten necessary information on why the school board is looking at splitting the district, she said. Galilio said she wants the district to provide facts on why the split is necessary. "We urge you to stand with us and other Keller ISD parents and neighbors in mandating the Keller ISD School Board to conduct a democratic community vote, allowing us to actively take part in shaping our children's future. Lets ensure that our voices resonate within the boardrooms where these decisions are made," the petition stated. Like Woods, Galilio's children are involved in activities in which they have made friends from other schools. Her daughter is in the honors choir for elementary students, and her son, a junior at Timber Creek High School, is a bull rider on the district's rodeo team. Galilio is in the Fort Worth portion of the Keller school district. She worries how splitting the district would affect her children and their teachers. "My children have just thrived in the Kerrer school system," Galilio said. "Every teacher my children have had are incredible people" she said. "They are passionate. They are creative. I look at all of them as role models. My heart goes out to them. This is just heartbreaking."