School board candidates split on Keller ISD’s $828M bond, unite against district division

Keller ISD voters will select three trustees and decide an $828 million bond package in the Nov. 3 election. 

Seven candidates are vying for the at-large seats for Places 4, 5 and 6. They are focusing on school finances, aging buildings and public trust in district leadership.

Five of those candidates — who were at a Sept. 29 forum hosted by the North Fort Worth Alliance — generally agreed that trustees should refrain from meddling in day-to-day operations and that residents need more information before major decisions are made. 

Contrasts emerged largely over the bond’s size and how Keller ISD should balance the budget. 

Places 4 and 5 are regular elections. Place 4 incumbent John Birt chose not to seek a third term on the board. In Place 5, incumbent Chris Coker faces two challengers. 

Meanwhile, Place 6 is a special election to fill the vacancy left by Charles Randklev, who resigned from the seat to run for Keller City Council, which he won in May. 

Early voting is Oct. 19-30.

Keller ISD’s first bond since 2019 has five propositions. Proposition A is the largest: $756.3 million for districtwide maintenance, repairs and renovations. Other propositions focus on technology and maintenance of the district’s natatorium, athletic facilities and turf projects. All five can be funded under the existing tax rate approved Sept. 24, according to district officials.

Coker and Place 4 candidate Geramie Parrish did not attend the forum. Organizers read their written responses.

The three races — and the bond election — come as Keller ISD copes with a five-year loss of more than 4,000 students and the district’s plans to close three remaining intermediate schools at the end of this school year.

Place 4

Candidates Rachel Weatherington and Parrish are running for the Place 4 seat. 

Weatherington, who resigned as a Keller ISD teacher to run for school board, said the district must do more to compete with other school systems to attract teachers. Not just through salaries, she said, but by way of providing better working conditions because planning time, workloads and properly functioning campuses are all retention factors.

Still, teachers can hop to a nearby district and earn thousands of dollars more, she said.

Weatherington supports the full bond package. She said Keller ISD has waited too long to address aging buildings. She also opposes any attempt to split the district — the 2025 debate damaged trust because of how residents learned about the proposal, not only because of its content, she said.

“No decision with such great impact should be made behind closed doors,” Weatherington said.

Parrish, an account executive and father of three Keller ISD students, has a more narrow position on the bond. He favors propositions C, D and E to raise money for natatorium maintenance, athletic complex and turf projects, but he opposes Proposition B on devices and Proposition A on school repairs.

Those major heating and air conditioning, roofing, plumbing and safety projects should not be bundled together in the $756.3 million proposition, he wrote in his responses.

Keller ISD needs to safeguard the pay classroom teachers earn, Parrish said, but it should align staffing based on declining enrollment and not offer raises that the district cannot afford. 

He does not support any district split and said community members should be provided months of advance notice and financial data before decisions are made related to attendance boundary changes, school closures or district oversight. 

Place 5

In Place 5, candidates Andrew Walsh and Colin Hodges are challenging incumbent Coker.

The problems KISD faces with crumbling buildings and teacher shortages are two sides of the same coin, said Walsh, a Keller ISD father and engineer. Because the district has not approved a bond to raise money since 2019, big repairs come from the same operating fund that pays for salaries and school programs, he said.

Passing the bond would allow Keller ISD additional capacity to support employees, Walsh said.

He backs all five propositions — pointing to failing air conditioners, leaking roofs and other overdue repairs — and puts his faith in the citizen committee that he said spent thousands of hours developing the proposal.

Walsh spoke against splitting Keller ISD and said major decisions should occur with community input. What should never have occurred, he said, was trustee-created plans being unveiled to residents only after the fact.

Coker, the only Keller ISD incumbent on the ballot this fall, supports portions of the bond but not the full $828 million package, he wrote in his candidate survey. Necessary infrastructure vs. enhancements and discretionary projects should be more clearly separated so voters can make those decisions individually, he said. 

His approach to teacher compensation? “Teacher pay up, administration costs down.” Coker also proposed putting proceeds from selling surplus district property into an endowment that could generate money for teacher bonuses.

Coker was on the board in 2025 while trustees discussed and argued the viability of splitting the district into two distinct halves. He disputed characterizations of the debate. Trustees discussed whether a division was worth exploring, but had not committed to splitting Keller ISD, he said. The board formally rejected a split in May 2025.

There should always be financial data accompanying any significant decision going forward, with alternative options and projected impacts brought to residents far enough in advance to be considered, he said.

Challenger Hodges is a parent, aerospace sales professional and elected Republican precinct chair. He favors putting the bond to voters but doubled down on oversight if any propositions pass. He suggested a dashboard view available to the public that would be able to show overall project budgets and spending, project schedules and timelines, delays and major changes.

Hodges also asked for Keller ISD to routinely compare its pay and benefits with neighboring districts, as well as campus-specific vacancy and turnover reviews. He does not favor any split of the district. Filing a board resolution against any district partition that would not go to public vote is among the things he said he would prioritize.

“Public input must come while options are still open,” Hodges said.

Place 6

Barbara Brewer and Tommie Johnson are seeking the position that Randklev left when he resigned in December 2025.

Brewer, a substitute teacher, caregiver and former Keller ISD PTA president, backs the bond. 

Keller ISD has gotten to the point where big repairs cannot realistically be paid for with its operations budget, she said. Even if voters say no to some or all of the propositions, heating and air conditioning and plumbing should be prioritized, she said.

Brewer also wants Keller ISD to enhance its career and technical education programs to provide greater access to internships associated with industry certifications. The district should look at limited open enrollment and new hybrid options to attract and keep students, she said.

Brewer opposed the split in 2025 and opposes it now, she said. Decisions that could impact families’ taxes, schools and property should not be advanced without public input, she said. 

Johnson, a former Keller ISD principal and assistant superintendent of human resources, supports the entire bond, too. 

As an educator, her perspective on the problem was shaped by her recollection of teaching a huge class without air conditioning. Quality buildings are essential for enabling students to learn, she said.

If the bond fails, the district’s first priorities should be student safety, instruction and educators while leaders look for other ways to use or generate revenue from district property, she said.

Meanwhile, competitive pay includes both salaries and work environments, Johnson said. Teacher retention suffers when division exists at the district’s highest levels, so it’s on trustees to create stability, she said.

She also opposes splitting Keller ISD.

Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected] or @matthewsgroi1.

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