Learn more about the candidates running for Keller ISD, Place 4 ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

The details

Geramie Parrish and Rachel Weatherington are running for the position, which will be open after John Birt opted to not seek reelection.

Birt is the current KISD board of trustees president and has held the Place 4 position since May 2023. He was previously on the board from 1996-99, according to the school district website.

What you need to know

Candidates were asked to keep responses under 50 words and answer the question provided without attacking opponents. Answers may have been edited or cut to adhere to those guidelines, or for style and clarity.

What else?

Oct. 5 is the last day for residents to register to vote, according to the Texas Secretary of State website. Early voting will take place from Oct. 19-30.

Keller ISD will offer a virtual learning option for district high school students with the start of the 2027-28 school year, according to a presentation from Chief Academic Officer Jennifer Price during the Aug. 27 regular meeting.

What’s happening? In the presentation, Price said the district was able to implement a framework to operate a full-time hybrid program for both on-campus and online learning through the 89th Texas Legislature via Senate Bill 569 and Texas Education Code Chapter 30B.

This allows students who might otherwise leave the district for homeschooling or another virtual option to remain, according to the presentation.

What else? A survey on the virtual program can be found on KISD’s website and is open to parents and students until Sept. 18.

Frisco Northwest Community Park is set to open Sept. 19, while a Keller commission approved a Kroger relocation. Check out six trending stories from Community Impact’s Dallas-Fort Worth coverage areas.

1. Frisco Northwest Community Park to open Sept. 19

2. Keller Planning & Zoning Commission approves Kroger Marketplace, mixed-use development

3. BreadHaus offers scratch-made sourdough, sweets in Frisco

4. Celina adds 578 acres to city limits for new developments, planned elementary school

5. Project Tomahawk developer scraps plans for Prosper data center

6. Frisco Atmos customers to see higher gas bills in October

Across Texas, the taxes that homeowners pay to their local school districts went down by about 13.6% in 2025, one state senator found.

The overview: Across the board, many Texas counties mailed out reduced property tax bills for the 2025 tax year, Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, reported. During a Sept. 1 hearing of the Senate Local Government Committee, he said the average homeowner's property tax bill went down by about $140 last year, falling from $1,037 per year in 2024 to $896 per year in 2025.

Texas' 2026-27 budget includes $51 billion in property tax relief, previous Community Impact reporting shows. Unless the legislature rolls back existing tax exemptions, the state will be required to spend that much or more on tax relief in future bienniums.

How it works: The state does not charge property taxes, meaning homeowners are taxed by local entities such as school districts, cities, counties and municipal utility districts. The Texas Legislature, however, can place limits on how much local governments raise taxes annually and require tax exemptions for certain groups.