During the Katy ISD July Regular Board meeting on Monday, July 31st, Trustees voted to approve an Order calling for a November schools bond election. The referendum will be reflective of the 2023 bond package recommended by the district’s Community Bond Advisory Committee (CBAC). When Katy ISD voters head to the polls this November, they will see four bond propositions:

“Our Katy ISD Board reviewed the projects and costs included in the Community Bond Advisory Committee’s recommended bond package. The package includes new facilities to accommodate enrollment growth, and addresses safety, technology, and facility improvements across existing schools,” said Victor Perez, Katy ISD Board President.  “A November 2023 bond election, if successful, will fund projects that directly impact our students, staff, and learning opportunities across our 75 campuses,” added Perez.

The 2023 Bond was designed with a zero-tax rate increase and addresses the district’s immediate capital needs through campus and facility projects that include four new schools, upgrades, renovations, and/or additions at existing campuses, safety and security improvements, and a one-to-one (1:1) student to device ratio for grades 3 through 12, among other projects. The additional information about the bond, visit the Katy ISD 2023 Bond webpage.

Voting Information:

• Early Voting:  Monday, October 23, 2023 – Friday, November 3, 2023
• Election Day:  Tuesday, November 7, 2023

The Katy ISD Board voted 6-1 to call for the election, changing from a 7-0 vote after Trustee Morgan Calhoun interrupted discussion of the district’s book review process to use a “point of personal privilege” to change her vote on the bond. The order calling a school building bond election was on the board agenda as part of a 14-item “consent agenda.”  A consent agenda generally contains items that are non-controversial in nature and do not require discussion, as well as recurring items, and the items are grouped together to be voted on as a whole without discussion, according to lexology.com.  However, Calhoun, in addition to changing her vote, spoke for several minutes, voicing her opposition to the bond and citing the school district’s current debt levels and the problem of carrying further debt for the next 30 years.

The board’s proposed book review process – board policies EFA and EFB – also passed with a unanimous 7-0 vote.

The next KISD board meetings are:

• Work study meeting – August 21
• Regular board meeting – August 28

Live and archived videos of the school board meetings may be viewed online at https://www.katyisd.org/Page/4418.