Granbury ISD trustees defended the district’s community forum format Tuesday after residents asked for clearer policies on diversity, equity and inclusion and for later meeting times to increase public participation.

“How important is it to you that we don't have DEI here in our schools?” asked Monica Brown during the public comment period. A trustee replied, “So I'm aware of the legalities around DEI in the state of Texas as defined by the state and governor Abbott, which is a completely different definition when we're talking about education.” The trustee encouraged the public to use district communication channels for specific concerns and offered to publish clarifying language on the district website.

Brown also urged the board to shift forum start times to 6 or 6:30 p.m. to help working parents attend. Trustees said the district will consider timing changes but must balance community access with staff scheduling. “As far as this forum goes, I think that's something we still have to look at because we also have admin that are up here working away from their families that have they need time at home too. So it's about finding that balance,” the superintendent said.

Trustees and administrators explained the forum’s origins at the meeting: the format grew from district strategic planning sessions that included parents, students, teachers and administrators. The purpose, the board said, is to give community members a setting where staff and trustees can answer questions or provide clarifications the law does not permit during regular, agenda-based board meetings. “Some of the feedback we got from those meetings was that during regular board meetings ... we legally, as board members, cannot answer those questions. And so it created space for distrust,” a trustee said. “This forum…was an idea where we could allow for a more open forum so that when community members had questions about things going on in the district that weren't on the agenda, we could have a little bit of dialogue to clear that up and build that trust.”

Several commenters also urged the board to restore earlier rules allowing a single trustee to place an item on a regular board agenda and to allow community comment at the next regular meeting rather than at quarterly forums. Trustees noted that state law determines what can be discussed in public meetings and said they will review board processes and website guidance on how to sign up to speak.

Longtime volunteer Renee Shahardi used her public comment time to urge trustees to encourage robust, respectful debate across the district and to model humility and learning in leadership. “True leaders discern the times, and you guys are our leaders,” Shahardi said. “We need to practice humility when we do things. Humility is at the heart of learning.”

The forum did not produce formal policy changes; trustees said they will bring timing and process questions back to staff for consideration and will publish clarifying information online.