Katy ISD’s board of trustees met on Monday, May 5 for a brief work-study meeting. It was the first meeting since the May 3 school board election in which board president Victor Perez lost his position, while long-time trustee Lance Redmon retained Position 2.

One of the discussion items on the board agenda was the district’s request to add 35 new non-teaching staff positions for the 2025-2026 school year, of which 16 are associated with the new transportation center opening next year, at an estimated cost of $800,000 to staff the new center. The remaining 19 jobs have been requested by various department heads, at a cost of approximately $1 million. A $2 million “placeholder” for these positions was plugged into the preliminary budget which has already been presented, said Brian Schuss, chief human resources officer for KISD. Board secretary Mary Ellen Cuzela questioned the need for 35 more non-teaching positions in light of the district’s projections of flattening student enrollment, calling the situation “concerning.” The jobs include support for the two new campuses opening next year, Schuss said, and are needed due to growth in the district. Some of the positions were needed last year, but the district has been running “lean,” Schuss said.

Another discussion focused on the need to purchase white fleet vehicles and police fleet vehicles for the district. “This has been a long time coming,” said KISD CFO Chris Smith. Prior to COVID, Smith said the district would budget for the vehicles. The freezing of the state per-pupil allotment “squeezed” the district, which then was forced to use savings from “underspending” each year to fund vehicle purchases in the spring. However, post-COVID supply chain issues meant long delays in receiving vehicles. The proposed purchase would be made using funds earned through interest on capital projects and would replace some of the current fleet, focusing on vehicles averaging 14.6 years old and with more than 111,000 miles. The new vehicles would run more efficiently and require fewer repairs, saving time and resources for the district’s maintenance staff as well as providing more reliable vehicles for the KISD police department, Smith said. The proposed $1.8 million purchase includes ten Interceptor vehicles for KISD police.

Both matters are expected to come up for a vote at the May 12 board meeting

There were no speakers during the public comments period.

The next meeting of the board will be on May 12, and new Position 1 board member James Cross will be sworn in along with Redmon.