A formal complaint filed with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday accuses Grapevine Mayor William D. Tate and all six members of the city council of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act (OMA) by allegedly coordinating a joint letter to Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District (GCISD) officials outside of a public meeting.
The complaint, submitted by local resident and blogger Tim Frazier, claims that the mayor and council “participated in a walking quorum” to formulate and sign an October 6 letter addressed to GCISD Board President Shannon Braun. The letter, which each official signed, urged the district to restart its Education Master Planning process and played into a greater firestorm over whether the mayor threatened Braun during a September meeting.
In the handwritten complaint, Frazier alleges, “On or about October 6, 2025, the Mayor and the city Council of Grapevine, Texas issued a signed letter to GCISD board president Shannon Braun. The content of that letter indicates that Mayor William D. Tate, and all current Grapevine City Council members who signed it, participated in a walking quorum in violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act.”
Frazier told The Dallas Express via email that was “something that could not have been accomplished without significant participation by all members” and that he found “no official record of any meetings or agendas related to that letter.” He argues this constitutes “communications to formulate it in secret and not exposed to the public,” in apparent violation of the OMA.
In a written response to The Dallas Express, Grapevine City Attorney Matthew Boyle denied the allegations, calling them “baseless.”
“The Grapevine City Council acted in full compliance with the Open Meetings Act in signing the letter of concern sent to the GCISD,” Boyle said, “The City Council did not meet or deliberate about the contents of the letter.”
A group of members sufficient to establish a quorum can not “discuss, create and/or sign a group letter or document concerning public business” without following certain procedures, according to the Texas Municipal League’s guide “Texas Open Meetings Act Laws Made Easy.”
The guide further states, “it may be a violation of the Act if the members meet or communicate by phone, memo, email or social media [citation omitted] in numbers less than a quorum with the specific intent of circumventing the Act regarding a group letter or document.”
Mayor Tate and the city’s communications office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The filing follows weeks of mounting tension between city and district leaders after GCISD publicly rebuked Tate and the council last week for spreading what it called “factually incorrect” information about district finances. The district’s own October 8 letter to city officials accused them of undermining public trust and misrepresenting basic elements of school funding, including how bond proceeds and “copper penny” tax rates can be used, DX reported.
At the heart of the conflict is the district’s ongoing debate over potential school consolidations due to declining enrollment. GCISD data show many campuses now operate far below capacity. Mayor Tate has repeatedly objected to closures, arguing the city’s infrastructure is inadequate to support reassignments and higher traffic at remaining schools.
The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office has not yet confirmed receipt of the complaint or whether an investigation will be opened.
Residents can read the full complaint on Frazier’s Trigger Factory blog.