Katy ISD’s board of trustees met Monday, September 16, for a lengthy 26-item agenda work study meeting at the Education Support Complex at 6301 S. Stadium Lane.

Agenda items in the meeting – which were discussed but not voted on – included:

· Preliminary attendance boundary modification survey results update provided by Andrea Grooms for new elementary schools 47 and 48 in the northwest quadrant. The survey, which was administered to about 1400 participants – mostly parents of students at Robertson and Faldyn Elementary Schools -- and is still open until October.

· Future board approval for the superintendent to form naming committees to name the two new elementary schools.

· Design approvals for renovations and expansions at several campuses, including the Show Center, Bear Creek Elementary School, Pattison Elementary School, and Hutsell Elementary School. A presentation was also made on the Merchant’s Way property which is set to house special education students.

· Discussion on board adoption of the 2024-2025 Maintenance and Operations tax rate and the 2024-2025 Debt Service Tax rate. Chief Operating Officer Chris Smith delivered what he called “good news,” recommending a tax rate reduction, which he said was a tax rate reduction for the fifth year in a row. The M&O rate will be reduced by .0023 cents, he said. The total rate will be $1.1171, which breaks down to $0.7271 for M&O and $0.39 for debt service. Although the new rate will bring in more tax dollars, KISD will not be able to keep that money, said Smith, since school districts are funded on an attendance-based per student allotment which has not changed since 2019.

· Consideration of naming a part of the facility at Cinco Ranch High School in honor of former track coach Gary Derks. Board President Victor Perez said that the package submitted in Derks’ honor was “impressive,” and that the matter would be voted on at next week’s meeting.

Ten public speakers spoke during the public comments section – five on the naming of a facility at Cinco Ranch in honor of Derks, and five on the Behavior Transition Program and the need to house that program at a separate facility, such as the Merchant’s Way complex. Speakers on the BTP program, which serves special education students over age 18, included KISD facility namesakes Elaine Robertson, Fred Shafer and Martha Aki.

The next meeting of the board will be a regular board meeting, where many of these agenda items will be voted on, will take place on September 23.