Superintendents of the three school districts serving the Katy area – Katy ISD, Royal ISD and Lamar Consolidated ISD – spoke to a capacity crowd at the Katy Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual “State of the Schools” luncheon on Thursday, August 10^th.  The event was held at the Embassy Suites by Hilton West Houston at 16435 Katy Freeway.

Moderated by Robert Long III, Ed.D., division director of Board Development Services for the Texas Association of School Boards, the program began with each superintendent describing their top priorities in “Seven Things in Seven Minutes.”

Ken Gregorski, KISD superintendent, predicted that the district – the largest of the three – would soon exceed 96,000 students.   He stated that the district would strive to continue to provide a world class education, “despite state legislative inaction to adequately fund public schools.”  Gregorski highlighted literacy programs as a top priority.  “We need to focus on our earliest learners,” he said.  Gregorski said that teacher and staff retention was a top concern and also addressed staffing shortages by describing the Alternative Certification Program, through which the district could “grow its own” teachers. He said that the district had submitted their ACP plan to the Texas Education Agency last fall but was still awaiting an answer.  Gregorski also spoke about completion of the 2021 bond projects and about the forthcoming bond election.  The 2023 bond would provide four new schools, renovations to existing schools, safety and security upgrades and technology improvements. Finishing out the district’s two-year strategic plan and planning to move the district forward were other topics Gregorski covered. 

Royal Superintendent Rick Kershner noted that he was celebrating his fourth anniversary with the district that day.  His objective for RISD is for it to be a destination district.  The district enrollment grew more than 5% in the past year and now stands at 2712 students.  Royal ISD also has a bond package on the ballot, with propositions designed to provide safe and secure schools, to respond to the exploding growth in the area and to preserve the district’s legacy.  He announced that the district had signed a contract for a new elementary school to be built in the Sunterra subdivision on the west side; Katy ISD will also be building an elementary school in Sunterra on the east side.

Roosevelt Nivens, who serves as superintendent for LCISD, focused on the mental health needs of teachers, staff and students in the district.  Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a “FREE HUGS” message, Nivens described his district’s “Believe in the Best” philosophy designed to bolster the self-esteem of employees and to encourage self-care.  “We know everyone is not okay,” Nivens said.   “We want students and staff to have a sense of belonging.”

Following the individual presentations, the program moved to a panel discussion with questions posed by Long, whose first question focused on a hypothetical:  “if Governor Greg Abbott were to call a special session of the legislature in October, what would be your message to him?”  Gregorski said, “Show me the money,” noting that there was an excess of money in the state’s rainy day fund but stating that there was no help for public school funding.  “The basic allotment has remained unchanged,” Gregorski said, noting that costs had increased due to inflation and other factors. Gregorski said that this year, KISD had to adopt a deficit budget and had to do so in order to take care of the district’s employees.

Kershner agreed, noting that the per student allotment from the state is about $6100.00 – in contrast to the proposed school vouchers, which are $7500.00 per student.  He noted that $7500.00 would not cover the cost of a private school in his community.  Kershner also wanted to send a message to the governor about safety; he said that when the tragedy happened in Uvalde, that “they promised us that they would chip in for safety and security.”

Accountability systems were also discussed, along with the issues of parental rights and school choice.  Each superintendent listed the options available for school choice through their districts, including CTE classes, early childhood education, STEM academies and dual credit programs.  Gregorski also described KISD’s Commercial Drivers License program, which he said is only one of three such programs at the high school level in the country.