Council members Charlie Lauersdorf [District 4], Alan Blaylock [District 10] and Macy Hill [District 7] have been proponents against a possible split. They have gotten the city involved in questioning the legality of the plan.
The details
Blaylock made a Facebook post saying Fort Worth City Attorney Leann Guzman sent a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton of his opinion on the situation.
“We firmly believe that if a split were to occur, the public has the right to vote on the matter, and the law supports this interpretation,” Blaylock said. “We look forward to the Attorney General’s forthcoming opinion.”
Blaylock also wrote that the three council members have deep concerns regarding the proposed KISD split and will continue to advocate for constituents.
Zooming in
On the letter that Blaylock posted on his page, Guzman asked for clarification if a vote is required no matter how the process is started.
The KISD board of trustees discussed splitting into two different districts but no decision has been made, according to previous reporting.
The letter from the city says the Texas Education Code mandates an election when a district is formed through detachment.
“‘Initiated by,’ in plain language, means ‘started by,’” Guzman wrote. “Thus, a plain reading of the language of 13.103 allows that the process of creating a new school district by detachment may be started in one of two ways: a petition or a resolution. But if a resolution alone were sufficient to create the new district—whereas a petition may only start the process—then the words ‘initiated by’ would mean two completely different things within the space of a single sentence.”
Quote of Note
Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez posted on social media in January showing he was in favor of a vote.
“I remain committed to advocating for transparency and ensuring that families affected by any such decision are at the center of this discussion,” wrote the District 4 Commissioner. “I trust that, if given the opportunity to vote on such a critical matter, our residents will make the best decisions for their families and the future of the district."
