Keller ISD Community, 

The Board of Trustees met for its monthly Regular Meeting on Monday evening, December 11, to consider two action items: (1) approval of the 2024-25 Instructional Calendar; and (2) a resolution affirming the District’s practice to allow chaplains in schools in their current capacity as visitors or volunteers. The resolution was required to be considered in order for the District to comply with Senate Bill 763, passed by the State Legislature last spring. A public hearing was also held on the findings of Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST) audit, a requirement by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).  

On this year’s FIRST audit, Keller ISD received a 74 out of a possible 100 – or a “Meets Standard” rating – comparable to last year’s mark. Keller ISD would have scored higher had it not been penalized for its reliance on fund balance to cover underfunded state mandates, inflation, and budget shortfalls, all resulting from inadequate funding from the state.

As friendly reminder, the state entered its 88th Legislative Session with a historic $32.7 billion budget surplus, but lawmakers failed to use this funding to properly address these issues or provide much needed pay raises for educators. Because of this, Keller ISD, along with other districts throughout the state, are increasingly reliant on reserved funds to account for lack of state support.

We recently hosted a Community Budget Education Seminar to share with the community how inaction in Austin has led to KISD’s current budget shortfall, and actions District stakeholders can take to reach out to elected representatives and implore them to make public education funding a priority. Click here to view that seminar, if you haven’t already. 

We are also scheduling a follow-up Budget Seminar for Thursday, January 4, to provide more information as our 2024-25 budgeting process continues. Please be on the lookout for more details about that in the coming days.

Trustees voted on the 2024-25 Instructional Calendar, which was previewed during November’s meeting. The calendar closely mirrors this year’s calendar, with the addition of Student Holidays on October 11, 2024 – which will be a holiday for all students, not just elementary-level students as previously considered – and November 5, 2024, as many of our campuses are expected to be used by Tarrant County as election polling sites. 

The week-long Fall Break will return, and will open with a Student Holiday on Friday, October 11, 2024. That day is being set aside for teachers to schedule parent conferences. The 2024-25 school year is scheduled to start on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, and wrap up on Thursday, May 22, 2025.

The Board approved a resolution affirming the District’s practice to allow chaplains in schools in their current capacity as visitors or volunteers. This resolution was considered to comply with Senate Bill 763, passed by the State Legislature last spring. The new law requires all districts in Texas to record a vote as to whether to authorize schools to accept chaplains as volunteers. Even districts like Keller ISD that already allow chaplains to volunteer at schools are required to take a vote. 

There has been some misinformation surrounding this action item, but just to be perfectly clear – this resolution does not authorize chaplains to fulfill the role of any Keller ISD employee, including school counselors. It simply puts the District in compliance with SB 763 by taking a recording vote affirming the District’s current practice that chaplains have the same right to volunteer as non-chaplains in our schools, provided they meet KISD policies and practices to serve in such a capacity.

Also on Monday, we were excited to recognize this month’s Heart at Work Employee of the Month, Keli Garrett from Timberview Middle School; this month’s Innovative Teacher Inspiring Students Award Winner, Louis Vazquez; the drum majors and color guard captains from our state-qualifying marching bands at Keller High and Timber Creek High; and the winner and two finalists from this year’s KISD Elementary Holiday Card Contest.

A special thank you, as well, to the students from Basswood Elementary School who led us in the pledges of allegiance, and the first-graders from Willis Lane Elementary School who opened the meeting with some holiday cheer, singing songs from their winter performance.

Thank you for staying engaged in Keller ISD and have a wonderful Winter Break!

Dr. Charles Randklev
Board of Trustees President
Keller ISD

John Allison
Interim Superintendent 
Keller ISD