Can Keller ISD really split into 2 school districts?
KELLER, Texas - Keller ISD is considering the idea of splitting the school district in two. But how would that work, and what steps are needed to make it actually happen?
Keller ISD Special Meeting
What we know:
About 120 people signed up to speak at Thursday night’s Keller ISD school board meeting.
Many are hoping to get answers. But trustees will only be discussing the split behind closed doors and are not expected to take any action.
Keller ISD school board president Charles Randklev has framed the idea as a "reshaping" of the district.

He said like other districts across the state, Keller ISD faces unprecedented challenges. And while other neighboring districts are closing campuses or cutting programs, Rendklev said Keller ISD will consider "reshaping the district."
What they're saying:
The idea of splitting Keller ISD would mean a traditional Keller district and a new district – Alliance ISD.
Some parents argue the new district is in a less affluent part of the current school district and would lose out.
"Splitting the district is going to allow the Keller side to keep all of those facilities and the alliance side will lose access to all those facilities. Or in some cases, what could happen, and again I don’t know the specific details, Keller can charge the Alliance district," said Michelle Testerman, a Keller ISD parent.
Testerman and others, including at least two board members, don’t know the specific details because they’ve not been made public.
Former Sunnyvale ISD Superintendent Doug Williams is now a consultant for school districts, superintendents, and trustees.
He said dividing the district of 34,000 students would be problematic.
"When you begin to create those dividing lines, you are going to have to look at demographic makeup, whether it’s socio-economic, whether it’s your ethnicity makeup, whatever. And, so, I think all of that is going to have to be taken into consideration," he said.
Splitting Up School District
Big picture view:
Districts across the country are facing some of the same challenges as Keller ISD.
A 2019 Education Week article called the splintering away of wealthy areas from school districts a trend that is speeding up.
"I think we’re going to see more of this, or we could potentially see more of this," said Mike Moses, a former commissioner for the Texas Education Agency.
Moses was a TEA commissioner when Chapter 13 was approved. It outlines the process for the creation, consolidation, abolition, or detachment of districts if they can meet a high bar.
He said part of the problem is how accountability is graded.
"When the public looks at the grade so to speak, they may not have all the information about who attends that school or how many kids really are low performing. Are there 10? Are there five? Or 50? But what it does cause some people to think is, ‘Well, maybe we need to split up and get away from the low-performing schools or low-performing kids. Or maybe we need to detach,’" he said.
Chapter 13 in the Education Code allows for this to happen by resolution of a school board.
If the board opts not and 10% of the district’s voters present a petition to the county commissioner’s court, the court could call an election. 25% of the voters in the district would have to turn out for that vote.
It’s a high bar set by the legislature. But with so much at stake, it has to be.
The Source: The information in this story comes from a social media post by Keller ISD school board president Charles Randklev, and interviews with former a Sunnyvale ISD superintendent and a former TEA commissioner.