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Public commenters urge audit of private legal bills and question outside counsel role
Summary
Several public speakers criticized heavy spending on outside counsel and asked the Keller ISD board for unredacted invoices and a forensic audit, alleging political activity by outside attorneys and possible breaches of fiduciary duty.
Multiple public commenters at the June 26 meeting pressed the board for transparency about legal spending and the role of outside counsel. Stuart Winnie called for unredacted invoices and said the district paid large sums for outside legal work; Andrew Sternke specifically named private board attorney Tim Davis of Jackson Walker and said the district spent nearly $200,000 on his services over a four‑month period.
"From mid‑December to mid‑March, this district spent almost $200,000 on Mister Davis' services," Sternke said, and he urged trustees to consider whether those expenses represented a misuse of taxpayer dollars or a breach of fiduciary duty. Rachel Jenkins and other commenters supported calls for stronger approval thresholds for outside counsel and asked the board to consider a forensic audit of prior spending.
No trustee announced any immediate administrative action that evening to commission an independent forensic audit; trustees did, however, approve the district budget and directed administration to continue communicating budget and pay‑scale details to staff. The allegations about counsel’s political involvement and conflicts of interest were raised in public comment and were not addressed with a formal response by counsel or the board during the meeting.
