In a special meeting Monday night, the trustees of Katy ISD’s school board came together for team-building activities and for more training on their roles, rights and responsibilities as board members. All board members were present for the session, which was held in the Martha Lopez Aki Building on the Katy ISD administrative campus.

The training – requested by Board President Victor Perez – was conducted by Innovative Teachers of Texas, a Deer Park-based nonprofit organization whose motto is “Standing for Traditional Texas Values” and which bills itself as being “for teachers, by teachers.” The organization’s website states that the organization “was created to provide a modern alternative in professional liability insurance for teachers without funding a liberal political agenda.” According to spokesperson Todd Taylor, who opened the meeting, the group provides “Back to Basics” training for school boards and also funds a “Triple T” program – “Teacher Travel for Testimony” -- which enables individual teachers to travel to speak personally to lawmakers about education issues.

Julie Pickren, who is a member of the State Board of Education, conducted the first training session for the Katy board, outlining their specific roles and responsibilities. Each board function which Pickren described was well-documented and supported by citations from state law, attorney general opinions, U.S. Supreme Court decisions or other legal documentation.

Dr. Natalie Blasingame, who currently sits on the CyFair ISD school board, led the second training session, which focused on the process and criteria for superintendent evaluation.

The next meeting of the school board is a work-study meeting scheduled for October 23rd in the Board Room of the administration building at 6301 S. Stadium Lane in Katy.