Keller ISD trustee Ruthie Keyes stepped down from the school board during a discussion on whether to allow chaplains to volunteer in classrooms.
Keyes, who has been a trustee for 11 years, announced her decision during the Dec. 11 meeting, where the school board voted 6-0 on a resolution allowing chaplains to volunteer. The vote took place after Keyes left the meeting.
The district said the resolution merely allows chaplains to volunteer, but not at the capacity to replace mental health counselors. Senate Bill 763 requires school boards to vote, on or before March 1, 2024, whether they will adopt a policy allowing chaplains to serve as volunteers in schools. The bill went into effect Sept. 1, after Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law.
Keyes questioned the language of Keller ISD’s resolution, saying that it leaves an opportunity for chaplains to be hired by the district in the future. She also made public allegations that trustee members have left her out of meetings, which added to her frustration.
As board President Charles Randklev interrupted her statement, Keyes left the meeting.
“This resolution has locked in my decision to step down from this board,” Keyes said at the meeting.
Keller ISD has not received an official written resignation from Keyes, district spokesperson Bryce Neiman said in an email to Fort Worth Report.
Keyes did not immediately respond to the Report’s request for comments.
Chaplain resolution
The resolution states that the school board’s vote will “permit a district campus to accept as a volunteer a chaplain pursuant to the expectations in this resolution and existing District policy and practices.”
Interim Superintendent John Allison addressed meeting attendees before public comments to clarify that the resolution does not allow chaplains to fulfill the responsibilities of school counselors at the district.
Instead, it reaffirms a long-standing practice at the district: faith leaders in the community have volunteered under the same capacity as any other volunteers in the district, Allison said.
“There’s no intent to replace counselors with chaplains,” he said.
Board President Randklev said the resolution follows state law. The resolution ensures that individuals wouldn’t be excluded from the volunteering process if they were chaplains of any religions.
The district has already had faith leaders serving in this district, providing programmings before and after school, Randklev said.
“We’ve turned this into something else,” he said, adding that it’s “patently false” to say chaplains will replace counselors based on the resolution.
Parents reaction
Thirty-four parents signed up to speak about the resolution at the event, according to the district.
The majority opposed the resolution.
Keller ISD parent Dixie Davis said she doesn’t want chaplains to serve as counselors at the district. She called the resolution’s language “vague” and questioned why it didn’t explicitly state that chaplains would not replace school counselors.
“You have until March to vote on this resolution,” Davis said. “There’s no reason to pass this today without clarifying vital details that confirm parental consent and ensuring that all students will have access to legitimate, qualified, paid licensed counseling services in our school.”
Keller ISD resident Doug Hinds said he supports the board’s resolution.
“It’s a great idea to confirm that you already allow chaplains to be here, and you’re just taking the opportunity under the state law to say it,” Hinds said.
Dang Le is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at dang.le@fortworthreport.org or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.