At its June 26^th meeting the Katy ISD school board took action on library book purchases and staff compensation and heard recommendations for attendance boundary changes.

Book purchases halted

At the direction of the board of trustees, Katy ISD has halted purchases of new library books and will store incoming books rather than placing them on library shelves.  Books will remain in storage until the board changes the current policy or creates a committee for book evaluation.  An audit of the shipment of incoming books is planned.  The only exceptions are books designated for libraries in the district’s newest schools, which will open this year.

ESSER funds update

Nakia Coy, KISD director of federal programs and external funding, outlined plans for using the remainder of the second round of Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief Funds and also listed the activities and programs which have been submitted for ESSER III funds. The remaining balance of $747,240 in ESSER II funds, which end in September, will be split between salaries, reading academy payments, expenditures and indirect costs.

Through the end of September 2024, Katy ISD will use the remaining $24.75 million of the third installment of ESSER funds for: 

• Career and technical education
• Summer learning
• After-school programs
• Parent and family assistance
• Attendance and engagement
• Public health protocols
• Staff retention
  
  

Coy said that further updates on the ESSER programs would be provided to the board in December.

Attendance boundary modifications presented

The board also received recommendations for attendance boundary modifications, necessitated by the opening of two new secondary schools in 2024 – junior high number 18 and high school number 10, both of which will serve the northwest quadrant of the district.  The new schools will relieve enrollment pressure at Paetow and Katy High Schools as well as Stockdick and Haskett junior high campuses.  The boundary modification recommendations also include reassigning some students from Katy High School to Taylor High School, in order to relieve capacity at Katy High.

Compensation increase decision delayed

After discussion of the potential financial impact of possible salary increases, the board voted to postpone a decision on a compensation increase until their upcoming work-study meeting.

Student attendance incentive plan introduced

According to district officials, KISD district wide average daily attendance (ADA) has dropped by 2% since the COVID pandemic, compared to a 3% drop statewide.  Average Daily Attendance is used by the Texas Education Agency as a factor in calculating school funding, officials said. Through the proposed plan each campus will have an attendance improvement plan and must show an improvement over the prior year; the district as a whole must also show attendance improvement in order for the incentives to be deposited into the campus budget.  Leadership at each campus will have the flexibility to design and implement programs customized to their schools.

Next board meetings

The next meeting of the school board will be a work-study meeting on July 24^th with a regular board meeting following on July 31^st.