Keller ISD Community,

The Keller ISD Board of Trustees held its monthly Regular Meeting on Thursday, April 25, which focused on protecting our Basswood Elementary community, school finance, and celebrating our amazing students and educators. You can watch the entirety of the meeting on Keller ISD’s YouTube channel by clicking here.

The Board took action on Thursday to protect our Basswood Elementary community. An extended stay hotel was being developed adjacent to the school, which was a surprise to the Board, District and community.

Once properly notified, the Board of Trustees and District acted quickly to reach an agreement with the developer that protects our Basswood Elementary students, staff, and families. The action taken by the Board allows the District to purchase the lot for $3.2 million, with a potential cost share with the City of Fort Worth. This is a one-time cost, and will not impact our students, staff, or budget deficit.

Chief Operations Officer John Allison delivered a report to Trustees on school finance and the administration’s progress toward developing a balanced budget.

As a reminder, the District is facing a historic $27 million budget deficit because Austin refused to spend any of the state’s unprecedented $40 billion budget surplus on local education. This deficit is rooted in exploding inflationary costs (more than 17%), underfunded mandates, and a state funding formula that has not been updated since 2019.

To put it very simply, the state chose not to fund public education despite having a $40 billion budget surplus, which put our district – and as a result, our students and teachers – in financial jeopardy.

Despite inaction by Austin, the Board and KISD leadership have been proactive. Last year, we adopted a balanced budget that provided $17 million in cost-savings to the District. The administration focused first on finding efficiencies in central office, resulting in approximately $3.8 million savings. The Board and district leadership also made multiple trips to Austin to advocate for funding for Keller ISD.

Mr. Allison’s report included an update on the District’s plan to address the budget shortfall caused by Austin, which includes additional central office reductions of more than $4 million, zero-based budgeting, centralized purchasing, and providing programing and instructional support based on student interest, student need, and guided by student performance data.

Keller ISD is a destination of excellence, and the District’s plan will ensure that it remains that way for all students by focusing on student outcomes and supporting our educators, all while protecting the long-term financial solvency of Keller ISD.

The District’s excellence was on full display at Thursday’s meeting as we had the honor of recognizing 24 graduating seniors that have made the brave decision to serve our country in the United States Military. We also celebrated the amazing achievements of some of our State PTA Reflections qualifiers, our state-qualifying Academic Decathlon teams from Fossil Ridge and Keller High.

We know that we will continue to see great things happen as we work together as one for the success of all. The Board’s next Regular Meeting will be held on Monday, May 20, moved from the original Thursday date to avoid conflicting with the Keller Compass Center Graduation.

Thank you for your continued engagement as we cultivate learners, inspire leaders, and build a community of excellence.

Dr. Charles Randklev 
President 
Keller ISD Board of Trustees

Dr. Tracy Johnson 
Superintendent 
Keller ISD