Katy ISD’s $840M bond is big, needed
Lately, Katy ISD has been in the news more for controversy than its quality of education. With divisive school board elections, the booming suburban district has become one of the epicenters of book banning debates in the Houston area. In September, for example, after public scrutiny, the district had to clarify that “only explicit frontal nudity” would result in a book getting pulled from the shelves. Cartoon butts were still OK. The power of hindsight.
We are troubled by this turn in district politics but we urge voters to look beyond the headlines and support this year’s $840 million bond, the district’s biggest yet, that will fund the brick and mortar needs of the growing community.
Indeed, bonds have been an integral part of the district’s success. In 2014, 2017 and 2021, more than $2 billion in bonds helped work through an expanding list of district to-do’s as the population grew from 67,000 to roughly 84,000, according to data from the Texas Education Agency.
“The meat and potatoes, that’s what we focus on,” said Ken Gregorski, superintendent of the district since 2019.
Recent history suggests that isn’t always the case.
Notably, in 2013, voters rejected a $99 million bond proposal that included plans for a $69.5 million second stadium that would have been among the most expensive high school football stadiums in the country. Instead, a $58 million second stadium was approved the following year, along with six new schools. The final cost, though, ended up at $70 million.
Gregorski said he doesn’t take voter support for granted.
More recently, in 2022, residents also voted against maintaining the tax rate to help fund teacher pay raises. State law limits districts to a 2.5% growth in revenue. As property values rise, districts must lower the tax rate unless voters approve maintaining it.
The bond offers a partial way out of those constraints, at least for buildings and equipment. Voters may not end up paying any additional taxes depending on growth in Katy and increases in property values, but the bond itself doesn’t change the tax rate — a tricky thing to explain to voters.
“We ask our community to trust us when we need to build new schools and renovate schools,” Gregorski said.
This bond — broken into four separate measures as required by law — sticks to the important stuff: three new elementary schools and one new middle school and dozens of campus and district facility renovations. That’s the bulk of the bond, with $723 million in Proposition A for new build projects, land purchases and security upgrades, among other items. The bond also includes roughly $84 million in Proposition B for classroom and campus technology improvements, some $4 million for fixes to the existing competition swimming pools in Proposition C and $30 million for athletic facilities repairs and needed fixes at that first stadium courtesy Proposition D.
There isn’t much flash in the bond. And that’s a good thing.
“We’ve really been able to stay on top of a lot of these facilities issues,” thanks to regular bond programs, said Ted Vierling, the district’s chief operations officer. This latest bond would help keep the district there, steadily replacing aging equipment and facilities instead of waiting for costly and disastrous repairs.
“If we wait around for an air conditioner to break in a school,” Vierling added, “it could be an 18-month lead time on a chiller.”
That’s part of the reason why the bond items are sprinkled around the district.
“Just about every school has some kind of project,” said Vierling.
The district started this school year with two brand new elementary schools. It will add two more next year. By 2032, its student body is expected to swell beyond 107,000 students. In other words, they’ve got plenty to focus on other than reviewing Dr. Seuss and Eric Carle books.
Katy has generated controversy in recent years and given residents reasons for concern. This bond shouldn’t be one of them.
Propositions would fund new schools and upgrade facilities.