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July 21, 2014

It was standing room only tonight at the Board of Trustees Work Study Meeting as more than a hundred community members attended to support the Katy ISD Bond Committee’s presentation recommending a $748 million bond package to include new campuses and student activity facilities, district-wide renovations, technology retrofits, and safety and security updates, among other items.

“Katy is a magnet for families from all over the nation because of its successful schools, communities and businesses. We know this area is going to continue growing and with it, the District too,” said Katy ISD Bond Committee Chair Keith Carmichael. “Managing growth and planning for the future is a priority we cannot underestimate or ignore, and this Bond Committee recognizes this.”

For nearly four months, more than 200 Katy parents, seniors, students and other residents came together to form the Bond Committee to review more than a hundred projects, study the District’s Long-Range Facilities Plan, assess enrollment projections and even tour campuses currently slated for renovation to determine the District’s current and future needs. [The Houston Chronicle in their article on July 22, 2014 says there were "over a hundred" people in the audience! Here we go again with KISD Math!]

On July 16, the Committee reached a consensus on a $748 million bond which could potentially result in a one cent tax rate increase.

The Board of Trustees will have until August 18 to consider the Bond Committee’s recommendation, as well as call for a November 4, 2014 bond election, if approved.

Bond Committee Chair Keith Carmichael, Katy ISD Board President Bryan Michalsky and Superintendent Frailey will address questions from media regarding the proposed bond package on Tuesday, July 22 during the Media Roundtable from 2:30 – 3:30 pm at the Katy ISD Education Support Complex (6301 S. Stadium Lane).

For more information, visit www.katyisd.org/sites/bonds.

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Actually the board meeting was filmed by Channel 11 News and while most of the seats were filled, it wasn't "standing room only"! I could see that with my own eyes.

The Bond Committee, in typical KISD fashion, has been led by the nose to jump through hoops to finally "decide" on the components of the bond referendum. Of course those of us who have been around a while know that the items on the bond referendum were decided earlier in the year. This is called inductive bond production by those who are familiar with the Delphi process that is used. Certainly there are those citizens who truly believe that they were a "part of the process" and indeed they were. What these nice people, who just wanted to help out in their school district, don't understand is the way KISD administrators operate.

That's OK. Naivete' has it's place in the scheme of things.

What is not said in this press release is that there will be a tax increase to pay for this boondoggle, that they have come back with another plan for a huge stadium in the same location as the one that was proposed last fall and which proposal was soundly defeated, that they invited the bond committee to the meeting to be "honored" for their service (otherwise, no one would have been at the board meeting -see Invitation below, and what the word "consensus" signifies where KISD is concerned.

Consensus is part of the facilitated outcome of any project where people are Delphied. Consensus here does NOT mean that the group being facilitated was allowed to express their views to everyone or that there was a vote of the whole to make a decision. What it DOES mean is that mini-groups were organized to separate factions that might have come to a much different conclusion had they not been extremely controlled. Those of you on the committee need to realize that you have been snookered! Such deception flies in the face of honest, forthright discussions of the matter at hand--in this case a way overpriced bond issue.

Also look for them to return buses to the routes that they removed a couple of years ago, so that won't become an issue in this election.

I have put this quotation elsewhere on this web site, but it needs to be right here too!

"Ah, consensus ... the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies in search of something in which no one believes, but to which no one objects; the process of avoiding the very issues that have to be solved, merely because you cannot get any agreement on the way ahead. What great cause would have been fought and won under the banner, 'I stand for consensus'?"

— Margaret Thatcher

Sent: Thu, Jul 17, 2014 11:24 am
Subject: Bond Committee Celebration Invitation - Reminder

As a reminder, and for those of you that may not have received the original email, we wanted to share this invitation with you again.

It has been a rigorous three months of presentations, discussions and deliberations. Now, we would like to celebrate your time, dedication to the process, and commitment to this community.

We invite you to join us for a celebration reception Monday, July 21 at the Educational Support Complex, 6301 South Stadium Lane, Room 1200 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. Following the reception, the referendum recommendation will be presented to the Katy ISD Board of Trustees at their Work Study Meeting. The meeting will begin at approximately 6:30 p.m. Your attendance at the meeting, although not required, allows the Board and the community to see the dedicated members that volunteered their time to develop a referendum package that will support all Katy ISD students and our growing district.

Please RSVP regarding your attendance through the following link by Friday, July 18. (RSVP Link) We do hope you will join us.

Sincerely,

Bryan Michalsky Alton Frailey

Board President Superintendent