The Keller ISD Board of Trustees named Cory Wilson their lone superintendent finalist on Thursday night.

The district made the announcement in a news release.

Longtime district leader steps up

Wilson has served as the interim superintendent since former Superintendent Tracy Johnson's resignation in January. Wilson has been a part of KISD for over two decades, previously serving as the assistant superintendent of education services.

Controversial split proposal abandoned

Johnson's resignation was unanimously accepted a month after she voiced concerns about the proposal to split the district.

The proposal, which was presented in January, would have divided the district along Highway 377. The now-abandoned plan sparked intense community pushback and multiple lawsuits.

Legal challenges still ongoing

One lawsuit from a parent alleged the board's election rules violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Another accuses trustees of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act with their private talks of splitting the district.

Community cautiously optimistic

"Who would want to come to Keller ISD and pick up this mess, right?" said Laney Hawes, a mom of four KISD students and co-founder of the nonprofit advocacy group Keller ISD Families for Public Education. "And so we're excited that we have someone who is committed to the district. We have someone who wants to be here."

She's optimistic about the next chapter for the district with Wilson at the helm, but says the community is far from healed.

"We are on the path to fixing that, and we're going to get there, but I don't believe it will be finished until we have replaced every trustee that was part of the collusion to divide the district," Hawes said.

New trustees, ongoing scrutiny

The May election put two new faces on the school board. Those who supported the proposal to split Keller ISD are still facing a lawsuit alleging they violated the Texas Open Meetings Act in their planning.

Push for transparency continues

"We all want to move forward," said Cary Moon, who is spearheading his north Fort Worth neighborhood's legal efforts. "At the same time, we want to know that our school board is going to govern according to the rules of the state."

Moon, the chair of the Heritage HOA Legal Task Force, says their attorneys spent more than six hours deposing the former school board president this week.

"How they gathered information, how they communicated information, decisions they made, who they met with, who all knew those types of things," he said. "There's rules that you follow as elected officials, and the public expects those rules to be followed."

District faces financial challenges

Keller ISD is heading into the next school year with a projected $9.4 million deficit.

Hope for stable leadership

"We're going to move forward with optimism and hope that good things are going to happen in Keller ISD, and we believe that Corey Wilson has the potential to make that happen," said Hawes.

The president of the KISD Board of Trustees praised Wilson's performance as interim superintendent, stating, "We are excited for the future of Keller ISD under his leadership."

The board will wait the state-mandated 21-day waiting period before officially hiring Wilson for the position.

• Keller