Keller ISD board trustee announces resignation amid controversy over film crew brought into school

A Keller ISD school board member announced on Facebook Sunday she will resign from her position. In a post from her now-deleted page, Sandi Walker wrote she decided to resign as a trustee after prayer and conversations with friends and family. Walker added she was proud of what the board had accomplished in her nearly two years as a member. "Over the last 20 months, I have had the privilege to serve the KISD community," Walker wrote. "Thank you all for your support and kindness. My faith is in Jesus and I can rest in the confidence of knowing His plans are good." Walker was one of two KISD trustees who issued apologies amid controversy about an Evangelist film crew from the Netherlands who was allowed into a school and filmed students without the district's or parents' consent. The district confirmed this happened on Feb. 9.

In a letter to Central High School families, KISD Superintendent Tracy Johnson said the crew was on campus to conduct an interview with Walker, who was later joined by fellow trustee Micah Young. The crew then toured the school with Walker and interviewed students and employees. "The District and the Board were not aware of the scheduled interview," Johnson said in the letter. "KISD administrators have been in contact with the film company who have assured us that no students or teachers would be visible in the video that they are producing." Parents frustrated by the incident Sunday called Walker's resignation "welcome." "I don't want my kids used as political pawns," Central High School parent Laney Hawes told WFAA Sunday. "My kids aren't props. I'm angry they came in and filmed my kids to be props for their political agenda." Hawes and others expressed concerns about their children's safety, too. The district has not explained whether the film crew went through normal safety screenings. "They had cameras and bags and suitcases," parent Stacy Rimes said. "What if they had something different?" "It made me pretty angry that these people from a whole different country who we know nothing of were roaming around the halls," Rimes added.