KELLER

Keller ISD superintendent absent at board meeting, board names interim superintendent

The change came at one meeting after Superintendent Tracey Johnson said the board's plan to split the district was bad for kids, and she was prepared to resign

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Keller ISD has a new interim leader, Cory Wilson, after the former superintendent was absent at a board meeting. NBC 5’s Alanna Quillen has the details.

Keller ISD has a new interim leader, Cory Wilson. Wilson served as Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, one of five assistant superintendent roles in the district.

The board named Wilson at the end of a more than seven-hour-long meeting Thursday, which focused almost entirely on the board's plan to split Keller ISD into two.

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Board members began with a budget report, which showed the financial trouble Keller ISD faces, like many other districts. The presentation focused on Texas' model for funding education, and its failure to provide additional funds for six years.

In addition, the board pointed the finger at previous leaders in the district, accusing them of passing budgets they knew weren't accurate.

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A surprising moment came when the board received a presentation from an Austin company hired to study the impact of splitting the district. The company said no increase in revenue would be created by the split, and that the money would be the same whether the district splits or not.

Board member Joni Smith asked why the board would make the move, to which the company said they weren't hired to make that decision but to simply show the numbers.

The Board members supportive of the split never offered additional clarification as to how splitting the district in two would solve Keller ISD's budget problems, especially after the report showed no revenue changes. Instead, they focused on the benefits of being smaller in general.

The boardroom holds 240 people, and 220 signed up to speak at the meeting, almost all about the potential split.

Unlike the previous meeting, several people spoke in favor of the split, heralding the benefits of a smaller district. But those against the plan clearly and easily outnumbered them.

There was an overflow crowd in another part of the building, and even more people camped out on the front lawn watching the meeting online, while holding up signs asking for a vote on the matter.

Ralls for a vote were repeatedly requested. Parents showed petitions of more than 5,000 people asking for a vote on the matter, but such a vote would almost certainly kill the plan. The part of Keller ISD that is being asked to leave makes up 70% of the district.

During the meeting, we saw an official map, provided by the district, which showed the split along the railroad tracks of Highway 377, as NBC 5 first reported weeks ago.

The district pledged to have committee meetings starting next week on the issue but said it would be reviewed by the budget committee. Impacted parents have complained that they don't have a seat on those committees, and they are made up entirely of the board's donors and supporters.

In a previous board meeting this month, board member Chris Coker pledged to parents that they would be invited to sit on those committees, but tonight, parents say they haven't been offered seats.

A spokesman for the district has no information from the board on committee information when questioned about the plan by NBC 5 earlier this week.

Superintendent Tracey Johnson's chair was empty during the meeting, and an agenda item to discuss her resignation was skipped over in the meeting with simply an appointment of Wilson as Interim Superintendent.

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