KELLER, Texas — As they stood together near Keller ISD’s Central High School on Friday, a group of parents shared their anger and frustration.
“I’m livid,” said Laney Hawes, a parent whose child attends Central HS. “Our rights and our kids rights have been violated.”
Their anger stems from what the district confirmed happened last Friday, February 9.
Sandi Walker, a school board trustee, brought an Evangelical-based film crew into the high school to conduct interviews with her. Multiple students and parents told WFAA children were filmed and interviewed by the production crew without their consent. Trustee Micah Young was also involved in the filming.
Evangelische Omroep (EO), a Netherlands-based Evangelical broadcast television network previously produced the documentary: ‘God, Jesus, Trump.’
“We don’t want politics in our kids schools,” Hawes said. “If kids wanna bring God into schools, beautiful, but it cannot be the administration. There is a separation of church and state.”
Elliot Mullaney, a freshman at Central High School said he witnessed the filming take place during his lunch hour.
“It’s an invasion of privacy,” said Mullaney. “I think that it’ll be used to spread hate and spread untrue opinions.”
The trustees involved, Walker and Young addressed the incident in Facebook posts.
Walker apologized in a post, saying: “I recently participated in a foreign documentary focused on public schools in Texas. Some filming took place while students were present. I take safety and privacy of our students seriously. I apologize for allowing students to be captured on film.”
Young, who said he “briefly assisted my colleague in an interview about Texas public schools,” said in a Facebook post: “I regret if any students were captured on film. My understanding is the District has been assured by the crew that no student will appear in the footage. The safety and privacy of our students is of utmost importance to me.”
The group of parents told WFAA they want consequences for the trustees involved.
Christopher Mullaney, a parent who teaches at the school, said the principal was absent on the day the trustees and film crew went into the school.
“If they’re bypassing certain rules, it’s time that they need to resign,” Mullaney said.
Friday evening, Keller ISD Superintendent Dr. Tracy Johnson sent a letter to Central HS parents. In the letter, Johnson confirmed that a production company from the Netherlands visited the campus to film an interview with trustees Walker and Young. Johnson confirmed the crew toured the school and talked to some students and employees.
According to Johnson, “the district and the board were not aware of the scheduled interview.”
Despite district officials' saying they weren't aware of the scheduled interview, the film crew said in a statement to WFAA that it "obtained permission to record at the school in advance."
"The Evangelical Broadcasting, a channel that broadcasts on National Television in the Netherlands, has recorded at Central High School, part of Keller ISD, for a program called ‘God, Jesus, Trump!’. This program is a neutral journalistic program that examines Christian culture in the USA," the statement from the film crew read. "The film crew obtained permission to record at the school in advance. The film crew went through all standard registration and administration procedures upon entering the building, and the crew was warmly welcomed by the staff that day. As stated prior, all children will be unrecognizable, and all ethical and journalistic guidelines were applied during the recording and will be applied in the process of making this program."
Johnson’s letter said the matter is under review and that the district is “taking proactive steps to safeguard the privacy and security of our students. 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 they are producing.”
Hawes said she spoke about the incident with the school’s principal, Liz Russo.
“Russo apologized. She let me know that policies were broken and this wasn’t done with permission, and it would’ve never been allowed,” Hawes said.
WFAA reached out to all school board members and Principal Russo about the incident, but they did not respond.
Another parent, who asked not to be identified, told WFAA she recently moved to Keller to protect herself and her children from dangerous family members. She said she filled out a form at the beginning of the school year in which she asked the district to maintain her child’s privacy and avoid any photos or videos.
“It’s sickening, the parent said. “It’s very concerning. Now she’s being exposed. “It’s already tough enough trying to make sure our kids are safe, and if you can’t trust the people in the school building are gonna keep your kids safe, who can?”
Parents are calling for the trustees to resign and said they plan to file grievances with the district.