BOND PROPOSAL RAISES QUESTIONS   BY KEN STEGER:

The proposed $90-million bond issue which voters in the Katy Independent School District will soon be asked to approve is a sound investment in the future education of our students.

Reasonable population projections indicate accelerated growth in the Katy area--growth that will greatly affect our classrooms.

If preparations are not made now to handle the future number of students attending KISD schools, the district will be faced with a crisis situation in terms of physical accommodations.

Some of our schools are already bulging at the seams, relying once again on temporary, portable buildings for classrooms -- and only a year after the expansion of several elementary schools and the construction of a  new junior high.

The need to address this imminent growth is a wise move on the part of the administration and the school board.

And it seems that going the bond route is the best way to finance the expansion, lessoning [sic] the financial burden to the individual taxpayer over a longer period of time.  Hopefully, an expanding tax base (which should result if the growth projections are accurate) will ensure that new residents who come into the area during the next few years will share in the expense for the building program.

The alternate pay-as-you-go program, which has been suggested by some, would saddle current residents with the full tab for future KISD expansion and, more importantly, would probably fail to keep pace with needs of the district.

So, all in all, the bond proposal is a good move.

However, with all that said, the manner in which the bond plan has been presented to the public leaves a lot to be desired.

The administration, apparently with the cooperation from the board, has presented a plan to the public that addresses future expansion commitments mostly in generalities.

Under the auspices of, "not tying the hands of future boards to changing conditions," residents are being asked to vote themselves an additional $90 million in tax burden without the benefit of having the funds specifically earmarked in advance. 

That's a lot of trust.

Also, the district has discouraged discussion of a broader view of KISD's future plans for fear the bond proposal would become tied to "an emotional issue," which could lead to its defeat.

But these so-called emotional issues, such as changing attendance zones or converting to year-round schools, should be imperative to any future expansion plans.

District patrons would have been better served had these topics been openly presented as part of the bond package.

But, in the end, voters will have the final say on April 9.