Keller ISD board unanimously accepts Superintendent Tracy Johnson’s resignation

The status of Superintendent Tracy Johnson was confirmed during a special Keller ISD meeting after her voluntary resignation was unanimously accepted by the board of trustees.

The details

During the Feb. 20 meeting, the board also approved an agreement with Dr. Cory Wilson, who was named interim superintendent Jan. 30. Place 2 Trustee Joni Smith and Place 3 Trustee Chelsea Kelly voted against the agreement with Wilson. Place 5 Trustee Chris Coker was absent.

Wilson has worked in Keller ISD for 23 years, first as an educator and then as an administrator. A district news release states he joined central administration as an executive director of leadership in 2013, serving the district’s Title I and bilingual campuses. He later served as assistant superintendent of elementary schools, and most recently as assistant superintendent of education services.

Zooming in

During the board's discussion period on the agenda item regarding Johnson's resignation, Kelly spoke about what a bad decision it is to let Johnson go.

"I don't think Dr. Johnson wanted to go voluntarily," Kelly said. "It just breaks my heart because right now this is not what our district needed."

Smith echoed Kelly's statement, saying that Johnson didn't want to go, but felt like she was put in a position where she felt she was going against her beliefs of "what was right and what was good for our students."

"This district is in utter chaos; this community is in utter chaos," Smith said. "We are all hurting and it's not [Johnson] that caused it. So while I do not want to accept her resignation, I'm going to honor her request."

Before action was taken on Johnson’s resignation and Wilson’s agreement, several members of the community spoke about how the confusion with Johnson’s resignation has negatively impacted the public’s trust of the board.

Matthew Mucker said he sent emails to all seven board members asking how the district could have two superintendents at the same time and why Johnson’s future with the district wasn’t more transparent. He added he received only one reply from Smith, who said she was “a bit confused myself” with the process.

“I find the fact that the public has not been informed of whether Dr. Johnson has resigned or is fired another breach of public trust by this board,” Mucker said.

Katie Woods, a vocal critic of several board members and their efforts to split the district into two parts, criticized the board’s leadership, which included scheduling a special meeting at 9 a.m. on a weekday while school was in session and parents had to be at work.

“If you feel like you can’t get things done, you can’t get the budget to work and it’s just not working, just resign,” Woods said. “There are people in this community who are better qualified than you, who understand school finances better than you. This is unacceptable. We are tired of this.”

The backstory

During a volatile special meeting Jan. 16, the Keller board of trustees met to discuss the possibility of dividing Keller ISD into two school districts, which has been met with outrage in the Keller ISD community and across district social media groups.

At that meeting, Johnson told the KISD school board she was prepared to offer her letter of resignation after speaking out against the split, saying it wasn’t “right for kids.”

“As the CEO and superintendent of this district, you hired me to look out for the best interest of every stakeholder in this district,” she said. “I think the timeline [to possibly split the district] is accelerated. I don't think we have the details. I don't think that we have the answers. And if the community decides this is something that they want, then we need the time and the right way to figure it out.”

Johnson’s resignation was on the agenda for the board’s regular Jan. 30 meeting, but was ultimately tabled by the board. Board President Charles Randklev said the board would discuss Johnson’s resignation, “at a later date.”

Bryce Nieman, Chief Communications Officer with Keller ISD, said in an email Feb. 3 that Wilson had not yet signed a new contract for his role as interim superintendent and that Johnson “is still an active employee until the board takes action on an agreement with her.”