At its December 11th meeting, the Katy Independent School District Board of Trustees approved the naming of Junior High #18 during their December regular board meeting. The campus, located at 25747 Longenbaugh Rd., Katy, will officially be named Nelson Junior High and will open in the fall of 2024.

The Nelson family history spans across five generations in the Katy area. Over that time, family members have graduated from Katy ISD, served on the Board of Trustees, and have been deeply involved in various district programs such as FFA. Their connection to the land that Nelson Junior High is being built on today is unique, with the family having purchased the land generations ago from a beloved Katy ISD schoolteacher. Representatives from the Nelson family expressed their thanks at Monday night’s meeting, with gifts to board members made from oak trees from the school site.

The board also discussed and considered approval of a resolution regarding adequate funding of public schools. The resolution is intended to communicate the board’s strong stance on school funding to both the state legislature and to the community, board members said. The board had previously discussed such a resolution in a spirited exchange at its work study meeting on December 4th, and a new version of the resolution was drafted based on input given to Board President Victor Perez. Board members Rebecca Fox and Dawn Champagne questioned some of the changes made in the new draft, which omitted a number of things in the original resolution, including references to the Texas constitution, the state’s $30 billion surplus and the inclusion of all students. Perez said that the new draft of the resolution, which he read aloud, “gets to the point” and basically calls for an increase in the basic student allotment and to index it to inflation, to fund unfunded mandates, and to provide more money for teacher compensation. Board member Mary Ellen Cuzela said that the changes were a “stylistic decision” making the resolution more concise, and not a political decision. The motion to approve the original resolution presented at the December 4th meeting failed 4-3. A motion to approve the new revised resolution presented this week passed 6-0, with board member Champagne abstaining.

The board also received reports on:

· Updates on Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds which are one-time funds provided to districts following the pandemic. The ESSER II funds ended in September 2023 and the ESSER III funds will end in 2024.

· Elementary Literacy update.

· Academic support update.

Public comments prior to the board meeting included two speakers (one of whom is a mental health professional) who opposed the creation of a chaplain program, one speaker who pleaded for higher salaries for bus drivers, one who asked that members of the academic community be included on the board’s new teacher retention committee and several students from the Cinco Ranch High School Power Club. Jo McPherson, wife of late coach Tom McPherson who served KISD for 34 years, gave a moving plea asking that the Katy High School baseball field be named in her husband’s honor; she said that the booster club would help defray costs of additional signage.

Future meetings of the board:

· Work Study Meeting – January 16, 2024

· Regular Board Meeting – January 22, 2024