"You are in Katy ISD, one of the fastest-growing school districts in the nation."  We hear that in every KISD press release.

Well actually, we are NOT a fast growth school district and have not been since 2006 which was eight years ago! 

Anyone know the definition of a "fast growth school district"? No, you don't, because there isn't one!

If you go to the "Fast Growth School Coalition" web site (http://fastgrowthtexas.org/ ) you might find, as I did, a Fast Growth member school district that LOST students the previous year!  Katy ISD is a member of this organization.  This bunch just wants to get more money out of the State Legislature when they don't even all need it! This band of like-minded and apparently very greedy superintendents/school districts tries to convince their publics that they need more money.

They don't.

As for the "growth" in Katy ISD, in 2006 the student population increased by 3,596 students over the previous year.  The next year (2007) the amount was only 2,917.  It went up slightly in 2008 to 3,037, but since then there has mostly been a decline. In 2009 the number was down to 2,429; in 2010 it was 2,253; in 2011 it was 1,816; in 2012 it was 2154--up slightly, but in 2013 it was down to 1,835 back down to the increase of 1999 (1,896). KISD is only telling you what last year's increase (2014) was, and it wasn't even 3,000! It was 2,964.

So to say that the district "is growing by 3,000 students a year" is an absolute lie.  It hasn't grown by 3,000 students since 2008 and has been growing slower for the most part since 2006.

We had the same demographer (Dr. Guseman)  telling us in 2006 that there would be 83,418 students in 2015. Think we're going to hit that number? The stating of that "fact" during the 2006 bond election convinced some uneducated voters to vote for something they shouldn't have even considered! It's a scare tactic.

The thing is, our District is depending on Dr. Guseman's  predictions to call bond elections and build schools! And her company admits ( at a bond committee meeting in 2006) that they are only + or - 9% correct!

What is also of note is that these increases per year by PERCENTAGE of the total student population are not as high (or "fast growth") as they were in the 1990's! (In 1997 we had 5.4% growth.  While in 2013, the growth percentage from the previous year was 2.9%).

Three per cent growth per year on average can be accommodated by rezoning, and by building schools in the first place AFTER students have moved here to fill them so they are not built in the wrong locations!

The practice and policy of building schools to lure home buyers for subdivision developers has got to stop!!! Ask yourself, Why are they doing this?