GROWING PAINS CONTINUE FOR KISD  BY HELEN ERIKSEN  WITH PUBLIC COMMENTS:

The latest word in Katy with Helen Eriksen

Growing pains continue for Katy ISD

Posted on August 27, 2007 | By HelenEriksen

Escalating enrollment will be among the important issues Katy ISD officials will have to tackle this year. The district’s student enrollment is up by 3,634 pupils compared to last year.

On the first day of school last year, Katy ushered in the 50,000th pupil. Katy ISD spokesman Steve Stanford said Friday district enrollment was 53,634. The rapid growth is likely to continue for some time.

At Morton Ranch, the only high school in Katy without a ninth grade center, some students will be attending classes in portable classrooms. The new wing, funded from a 2006 bond authorization, will open next year.

Officials estimate that Katy reaches a new 10,000-student increment about every three years.

The district typically sees a post-Labor Day enrollment surge. District demographers estimate that the district will grow by 3,000 pupils each year and reach 60,000 pupils in the 2010-11 school year and 70,000 in 2013-14. By 2015-16 the district could have 80,000 pupils.

How the enrollment is split:

29 elementary schools – 25,225

10 junior highs – 12,368

6 high schools – 16,041

How well do you think Katy ISD is handling growth?

65 Responses

Katy Taxes says:

August 27, 2007 at 11:49 am

I think that KISD helps the facilitate the growth as an extension of the developers and the Chamber or Comerce.

With that business relationship in mind, I think that they do a pretty good job of anticipating and expanding as needed.

Temporary buildings are OK until the tax base builds up enough to justify additional facilities.

IMHO, basic education (English / math / science / history / etc) doesn’t require a certain type of structure to be effectivly taught. Class sizes are important, so if temporary building need to be used, so be it.

We can’t afford to overbuild ahead of time… We need the tax base to expand, and then meet needs as the funds (or debt load in our case) permit.

We’ll certainly need more of a tax base to keep the deep pocket mentality adequately funded.

Now, about those roads…

Just A Taxpayer says:

August 27, 2007 at 12:59 pm

Katy Taxes,

I agree that we need to help facilitate the growth of the tax base in our community. Taxes are going down, but our districts tax deficit continues.

This does not make good business sense to have a business that runs in the black. (I look forward to the comments that a school cannot be run like a business.) Has anyone projected how long it will take to pay off the current bond deficit?

While portable buildings are not ideal learning situations, look at what Taylor High School did for a number of years. They had to manage with a whole parking lot of portable buildings for years before the Ninth Grade Center was built. They were still able to maintain their great tests scores and have a number of National Decathlon Winning teams.

I guess I still don’t understand why KISD continues to pay for land from developers. Years ago, the developers set aside land for schools and donated that property to schools. I guess their deep pocket metality allows them to pay for Merrell tractors…right?

v2the4 says:

August 28, 2007 at 10:03 am

I wonder why Morton Ranch does not have a ninth grade center, but the other five high schools in katy do, including Mayde Creek, Taylor and Katy High, which are much older than Morton Ranch?

Lisa says:

August 28, 2007 at 1:40 pm

The 9th grade center at Morton Ranch is currently under construction. I have never understood why it was not built with the high school to begin with. I’m sure the answer has something to do with money, but, inmho this was a huge costly mistake.

There is no denying that the growth out here is tremendous. I think Katy handles it in the fair to middle range with a lot of room for improvement. First thing I would suggest is saving a tremendous amout of money by getting rid of the Professional Demographic Service out of TAMU we’ve long used but who has proved to be a poor return on the investment. The District is entirely mapped out and they know exactly how much land is left, including who owns it and how much they want for it. I received that 411 when I sat on a rezoning committee when Mr. Tom Crowe was employed with the District. Need feeds greed and we’ve catered to the developmental special interests for far to long. No, we cannot afford to overbuild ahead of time, but, if we went ahead and purchased the land BEFORE the developers built their subdivisions, they would build around us instead of us building FOR them. Proven example, see the wonderful community of Bear Creek Elementary. Should developers donate the land? Absolutely! Is education a business and should it be run like one, most definetely. How long will it take to pay off the current bond debt? I wish someone knew! To me, it seems neverending.

HelenE says:

August 29, 2007 at 5:01 pm

v2the4,

Seven Lakes is the only high school in KISD where the ninth grade center was built at the same time the rest of the school was built. I think that will be the protocol for future high school construction. There are pros and cons of doing it both ways so it really comes down to doing it the most cost-effective way. The way new high schools open – they only receive ninth and tenth graders initially — leaving quite a bit of unused space for the first year at least. Last year was MRHS first year of having all four grades (and without a ninth grade center. It’s pretty cramped.

A.D. Muller says:

August 29, 2007 at 9:41 pm

The population growth in Katy Schools is a factor of urban flight, affordable homes, inner city crime, great teachers and parent participation. While our demographics change, so will all aspects of our society. We need to step up to these challenges, and face reality. Our money should be in the building of our children’s education, and teacher’s salaries, not Taj Mahols. It is my belief and opinion that while the pockets of the contractors, vendor’s developer’s and Chamber led Pac’s get fatter, the academic ratings of our school distinct have dropped. KISD, just purchased some of the most expensive land by any district in Texas history. This is while children academics ratings fall. The public demands answers. It is time for a town hall meeting with educators, parents, taxpayers, watchdogs, journalist, and special interest chamber PAC’s. Will you be there?

Steve-O says:

August 29, 2007 at 11:15 pm

I agree with A.D.’s point about KISD having great teachers. But many of our teachers live outside the district and some drive considerable distances to work here. So when I see how KISD is ranked among the top districts in the state in administrative pay and nowhere close to the top in teachers salary, I grow concerned about the district’s priorities. Take a look at the links below to compare KISD teacher salaries to several other local districts. While some pay levels show scant differences, others show gaps of up to $2,000 or more in the middle ranges – say from steps 6-20 or 25. So if you were a teacher who was earning $2,000 less AND spending an extra $3,000-$4,000 on gas each year to drive to KISD, how long do you think it would be before you would choose to teach somewhere closer to home? I think our district has good kids and facilities (and even some good administrators), but let’s be honest – how much better are we overall?

I know of several of my children’s teachers I’ve met through the years are/were in this predicament, and unfortunately some of these terrific teachers have left before all of my children were able to pass their grade level or take their courses. Not that their replacements aren’t worthy, but why risk losing strong, respected and known commodities when it comes to teachers? That would lower campus and district morale over time, just like if similar events occurred in the business world.

KISD:

http://www.katyisd.org/files/services/human_resources/Pay_Scale_Teacher_2007_2008.pdf

SBISD:

http://www.springbranchisd.com/person/jobs/tlsalary0708.pdf

FBISD:

http://www.fortbend.k12.tx.us/personnel/prof/Sal07-08.htm

CFISD:

http://www.cfisd.net/humanres/salary.htm

LCISD:

http://www.lcisd.org/HumanbrResources/SalarySchedule/images/TeacherSalarySchedule20072008.pdf

(Even LCISD is paying more – substantially more in some areas – than KISD. How interesting – and disturbing!)

James Wonder says:

August 30, 2007 at 7:02 am

Everyone is experiencing unexpected overcrowding and explosive growth in all of our schools and expecially certian west side attendance zones. We understand the current KISD transfer policy allows students to transfer based on the principles discretion without strict guidelines. We also understand that teachers are allowed to choose the schools for their children regardless of if they live in the assigned attendance zone or not. The current transfer policy is very liberal and we understand was originally set when we were a small school district and was used as a tool to attract teachers. At this point we have outgrown the current liberal policy and it is having an adverse effect on students who live in the district and certian attendance zones.

We need KISD to install a strict transfer policy to balance the attendance to one’s assigned attendance zone based on where they live and work their growth projections from that starting point. When parents can pick and choose where their children can go to school not based on where they live, it skews the projections and long term planning for future school expansions.

KISD should review the current policy and adopt policies that are more aligned with other school districts our size and growth patterns. We feel our children are suffering due to the overcrowding and a tightening up of the current policy is one step to begin solving this problem until new schools are built.

charris911 says:

August 30, 2007 at 7:05 am

Its been repeated over and over again, why the 9th grade center was not built with Morton Ranch and why it was with Seven Lakes. It is not any conspiracy.

Teacher salaries are above the average, and we have no problem attracting wonderful teachers. Should everyone salaries be higher, yes. Also, bonds do not pay for teacher salaries.

A.D. Muller land is EXPENSIVE in Katy ISD, it will get more expensive. Check out the price of land, you will see that Katy ISD is not overspending. The students are coming, it doesnt matter if the land owners give the district land. Nothing requires them to hand over land at a discount.

Lisa says:

August 30, 2007 at 8:33 am

I would love to come to this meeting, A.D.. When and where is it to take place? Do you think the Merrell Center would host it for us without the community having to fork over an admission fee? Is it big enough to hold all of us? Let me know when it is and I’ll get there early enough for a parking spot so I don’t have to hike from the back forty acres because all the front spots are reserved for the people who work there. Not that I don’t need the exercise, mind you. Thanks for such a wonderful suggestion on a TownHall Meeting.

Mary McGarr says:

August 30, 2007 at 9:28 am

Of interest to me is the fact that KISD keeps on retainer a very high priced guesser (Pat Guzman/Guseman) for the purpose of justifying the purchase of land and the building of schools before they are needed. A week before school started this year, the District told a Chronicle reporter that the District was expecting 53,956 students on August 27th, the first day of school. Actually, according to the Katy Times, 53,634 students showed up on the first day of school, so even just a week before school started, the demographer and/or the school district was off by about a third of the population of an elementary school. More interesting is that last summer during the bond hearings (2006 variety) the prediction was that there would be 52,937 students on the first day of school. Isn’t it interesting that no one wants to remember THAT number? The well paid demographer isn’t supposed to miss the mark by over 1000 students! That’s the equivalent of being short one entire elementary school at this moment. However, if one attended the Bond Committee meeting where the PASA rep spoke, and if one listened very carefully, she told the committee that PASA’s numbers were + or – correct NINE PERCENT of the time! When someone exclaimed that being off by 4,500 students was the equivalent of 3 or 4 schools, the subject quickly was changed, nothing more was ever said about the dilemma that such poor figures posed, and no reporter there bothered to follow up. If we continue to build schools before they are needed (as opposed to the previous practice of waiting until the students are in place so that one knows where schools need to be built) then we can continue to expect overcrowding or overbuilding. The use of a crystal ball (at much less taxpayer cost) would seem to be a better use of our tax dollars.

Mary McGarr says:

August 30, 2007 at 10:09 am

Everyone seems to be wondering why the District didn’t build the Morton Ranch 9th grade center when they said they would. Spin at this point would have us believe that they never intended to build it after the voters approved the 1999 Bond issue, but the District’s own documents show otherwise. In a FALL 2001 BOND REVIEW brochure from the school district (printed on pretty paper) that has a picture of the PBK architect’s drawing of High School 5 (which is Morton Ranch High School), it says under a heading of “New Construction Projects”: High School 5, 1999 $324.36 Million Bond Authorization, Current Estimated Project Cost: $70,299,007* (and the footnote which is applicable to all the other “new construction projects” that were underway at the time says “includes construction, architects, engineers, furniture, equipment, and technology”), Anticipated Opening Date: August 2004, Architect: PBK Architects, Inc., Construction Manager AT Risk: Gilbane Bulding Co.

Nowhere does it say they are not going to build the entire project; no where does it say that the 9th grade center isn’t part of the $70,299,007. When I asked through open records last summer for the cost of all our schools, I was given the cost for Morton Ranch High School as being $56,162,667. Clearly the school district (read superintendent and school board) intended to build the 9th grade center, had asked for the money to build it in the 1999 Bond initiative (although they were careful about the way they posed it and did not specifically cite the actual cost of High School 5 until AFTER the bond was passed), and we know that because the price of the 9th grade center being included is clearly stated in this bond brochure and then the 9th grade center disappears, even though they’ve asked for the money, got it, designed the school, paid the architect, engineers, and everyone else to build it, and then they just don’t build it. This is another example of the miraculous “savings” that the District claims from time to time. In this case they “saved” us $14,136,340 because they simply did not build the Morton Ranch 9th grade center! That money is gone and who knows where. Anyone want to guess what a Ninth Grade Center (that’s already been bought and paid for) is going to cost us now?

Katy Taxes says:

August 30, 2007 at 12:03 pm

Steve-O,

Seems like previously when anyone mentioned the comparions about the cost of buildings or teacher salaries with other districts, the Merrellites countered with KISD’s TAKS status and how teachers so strongly desire to teach in KISD…

Well, KISD’s TAKS status is no longer a bragging point and I personally know of more than 1 teacher that used to teach at KISD last year and now enjoy the higher salaries elsewhere.

It will be interesting to see what they come up with now as a response.

Katy Taxes says:

August 30, 2007 at 12:08 pm

charris911,

On wht basis do you think that land value for a school is normally based on residential land value?

Please send me sources of facts so that I may educate myself on the subject.

Thank you.

Katy Taxes says:

August 30, 2007 at 12:17 pm

AD,

Please arrange the Town Hall meeting with an impartial moderator controlling the meeting.

I’ll be there, but not if I have to give my address and where my kids go to school, since that is none of anyone’s (public) business and carries the perception of an implied threat.

I’ll bring my ever increasing tax bill(s) or voter registration card to prove I am an affected taxpayer. That’s all that should be necessary for a public forumn.

My first question will be about the wholesale replacement of working TV’s with flat panels as was mentioned by someone else in a previous blog. I want to know if that is true.

Just A Taxpayer says:

August 30, 2007 at 12:46 pm

Mary,

I believe that the demographers predicted that the growth on the North Side of the district to be slower than what happened. So they (KISD) decided to wait and build the 9th Grade Center later.

Unfortunately, that is not what happened. It seems to me that around that same time we were building 9th Grade Centers at all the other high schools in the district.

Hmmmm…so what happened to the money? Do we not have accountability in our district?

Sherry says:

August 30, 2007 at 9:42 pm

Katy Taxes,

I don’t know about all schools, but I know that I don’t have a flat screen tv in my classroom. I know that Woodcreek Reserve does, but this was new, not replacement.

Mary,

You think it’s bad to be off by 0.6%? I think that’s excellent! The 322 students are not all at the same school, so spread between the 45 regular campuses in the district, that is only 7 students per campus. Much less than one class, even in an elementary school. Not bad at all! Those 322 students, if they haven’t shown up already, will probably show up in the next 2 weeks, as soon as Labor Day is over. I’ve had 2 students added to my homeroom alone since the first day of school, and I know that 3 other students have been added in my grade level as well. Even if they were 1000 off, that is less than 2%. The standard margin of error is 3%. I’m not sure where the 9% comes from, but it doesn’t apply in this case.

I followed the building of MRHS very closely, and it was NEVER understood that the 9th grade center would be built at the same time as the school. I knew from the beginning that the 9th grade center would open when my son was a freshman. He was excited that he would be the first group to use it, and my now 11th grade daughter was jealous! Unfortunately, he is now a freshman, and the center won’t open until next year when he is a sophomore. Oh well, there are other things for him to get excited about – mainly GIRLS!

Lisa says:

August 30, 2007 at 10:51 pm

I was told by a member of the District staff that the “Professional Demographers” had not properly taken into account the “bilingual” population on the North Side and that is why the schools over on the North Side are well, pretty well maxed out capacity wise, hence all the $80,000 Temp shack/cottage cities on some of the campuses. I’m sorry, but for some time now, I have been an advocate of getting rid of the current demographers as a cost saving measure. I understand that demographics is in no way an exact science, however, it is my understanding that we have never used any other service but this one and frankly, and this is not a personal slam against her because I do not know her, Mrs. Gusman and company have been on the District payroll for far too long. Why there has never been two seperate demographic studies conducted on our District is a mystery to me and I am sure the answer to that is enveloped in something to do with politics and money. When I once questioned this I was told by the last Super. that it was because “this company is the best, simply the best there is.” I certainly do not concur with that opinion because of several facts as stated above in Mary McGarr’s 1st post.

Amen to the impartial moderator. Wonder how much he will cost the District to hire? And I agree that I, too, if I choose to speak, will only give my name and the topic that I wish to speak on because I think it is very rude and very much a “veiled threat” to ask someone (only out of “courtesy” mind you) to name my address, number of children and where they attend school. What will that board member want next? My astrological sign, bra size and favorite flavor of ice cream? How utterly disrespectful of the tax paying and voting public, some of whom elected him. Shame on him.

jamie says:

August 30, 2007 at 11:40 pm

Katy Taxes,

Developers and the members of the Chamber work with KISD because they know that it is the right thing to do and it is also great for business. KISD works with developers, the Chamber and other members of the community because they know that it is good for the students and good for KISD. No one has done anything wrong or inappropriate. I am amused when people complain that some vendors have been enriched by providing vital services to the district (i.e., the community). If someone invents something that makes them rich because it makes life easier and we all buy it, no one complains; but when it comes to public education no one should make any money at all for providing services.

Look around KISD and you will see that we have plenty of temporary buildings because it makes good financial sense, but there is a limit to how many temporary buildings an overcrowded school can have and students really cannot learn under a tree. We need buildings. KISD is not overbuilding ahead of time. Look at Morton Ranch High School if you need proof. Drive around and look at all the portables.

Just A Taxpayer,

I believe that it will take about 30 years to pay off the current bond debt. KISD is still growing so we will continue to have to pay taxes to accommodate that growth.

Before I tell you why I think a school cannot be run like a business why don’t you tell me what you mean by running a school like a “business”. Until you state specifically what you mean your comments, like those of many naysayers, are a moving target. How do you fire students and parents if they are not good for the business?

KISD continues to pay for land from developers because there is no legal mechanism to force developers to donate land. It is true that KISD has been able to work with developers to secure donated land in the past (I think Wood Creek Elementary may be an example), but it is not required of the developers.

v2the4,

Morton Ranch does not have a ninth grade center because they are not usually included in the initial plans for the obvious reason that a new high school does not have all four grade levels until its third year of operation because new high schools typically open with ninth and tenth graders. It would be folly to build a building that would not be used. Mayde Creek, Taylor and Katy High did not open with ninth-grade centers either.

Lisa,

KISD does purchase land before the developers build their subdivisions when it is feasible. Your assumption that developers would build around KISD if land was purchased ahead of time is faulty. There is no guarantee that KISD would not end up with land that could not support a school.

AD,

Our money is going into the building of our children’s education, and teacher’s salaries (I think 75% of the budget is personnel). The academic ratings of our school district have dropped while the challenges have mounted and standards have increased. As was pointed out by another poster, the raw scores actually improved, but the standards were tightened. Despite your opinion and belief, the building of durable, fiscally responsibly built schools has nothing to do with the recent decline in scores. We probably will have town hall meetings and I will be there.

Steve-O

It is very difficult to make a fair comparison teacher compensation based on the figures you cite since they do not include relevant information on benefits and forms of compensation.

charris911,

Hang in there. We’ve been debunking these arguments here for over a year and the same arguments and misinformation keep popping up. Thank you for caring.

Mary,

The district was off by 322 students out of 53,634 (0.6%). Do you really believe that the missing students were all elementary students that would have lived in the same elementary school zone?

As for your report that one year ago the district under predicted the number of students that would be enrolled today by 1.3%, I believe that this is an excellent number.

Is it possible that the 9% error rate to which you are referring actually applied to 5-year or 10-year projections?

The use of a crystal ball would be disastrous and the community would not stand for it. We need a qualified and well-respected demographer like Dr. Guseman.

Spin aside, the truth would seem to be that the Morton Ranch 9th grade center was not included in the 1999 bond as you allege. The document you cite does not prove that it was included in the project and past history would seem to argue against such a scenario though it is possible that the design cost for the ninth-grade center were included in the bond.

The money that was “saved” in the building of Morton Ranch High School probably paid for the much needed technology overhaul or the West Memorial remediation project or maybe it will be used to pay for the revamping of the district’s finance system. The district’s finances are complicated as illustrated by your ability to distort or confuse the facts, but I believe that anyone who is willing to look carefully at the facts will see that every dollar can be accounted for.

Katy Taxes

The replacement of increasingly outdated TV’s with flat panels was explained by yours truly in another post on this blog complete with references to the bond information section of the KISD website. If you cannot believe me, then you can call the district yourself.

Just A Taxpayer,

We have accountability in KISD. If you do not believe me, then go to a school board meeting or go to a bond review committee meeting. They are all open to the public.

Of course those who have an overdeveloped distrust of KISD would seemingly never be able to appreciate the accountability that exists throughout the system.

Lisa says:

August 31, 2007 at 10:18 am

Jaime, you are obviously very passionate about this District and I am wondering if you aren’t a District employee? Never mind, it doesn’t matter, I’m not asking as that would be rude and it’s not relevant at this time. I realize the District DOES purchase land ahead of time before developers build their subdivisions when feasible. My “assumption” that developers would build around KISD if we purchased the land first was not faulty. It was only offered as my opinion and frankly, we’ve catered to the developers in this District for far to long. The sales prices for some of the land that these developers, IMHO, sell to the District, seem to me to be quite overinflated. Yes, land out here isn’t cheap, by any means. Yes, the developers do perhaps deserve to sell their land for a small profit. But they certainly do benefit greatly by having KISD schools within or near their properties as a selling point. Why can’t they partner with the District and donate the land? I believe it goes to one word and that is greed. Again, need feeds greed and why should that come at the expense of the children to say nothing of their parents the taxpayers? KISD has had land before that they didn’t use and they ended up selling. But at least they had it before the prices escalated to what I consider to be too high. The land recently purchased for a new elementary school the other night seems to have been outrageously priced. Again, I place some blame and responsibility on the poor return on investment in the sole District Demograpic service as well as one other person. Will you be in charge with A.D. in setting up the first KISD Town Hall Meeting? Perhaps then we could “debunk” some of this “so-called misinformation” that you say keeps popping up. I, for one, do not possess an “overdeveloped sense of distrust of this District.” I just don’t trust what suave, good looking, good smelling salesman/politicians always say and do. I’ve been to Board Meetings, I’ve sat on a rezone committee (it was fun and hard and I met incredible smart people), I wanted to be on the “pre-selected” bond review committee. I guess some of us who can’t be managed by the “Delphi technique” will never have a chance to bring our knowledge, skills, abilities and opinions to the table. BTW, what’s your favorite flavor of ice cream??? I’m sure there’s a bored member who’s just dying to know!!!

Katy Taxes says:

August 31, 2007 at 12:17 pm

Jamie,

Nobody has ever stated that local business should not profit or that any illegal transactions have occured. What you gloss over is that it can be done less expensively and with more transparency.

Now what about the old TV’s made them no longer viable to be used for education? Please answer this one question and don’t say because it adds some new whiz-bang feature that probably won’t be used enough to justify the cost.

As you continue the Merrell-era “KISD is perfect” mantra, you are simply distancing yourself further from those of us who are trying to find middle ground in the new era.

I’ve personally made purposeful steps to reduce the rhetoric and give kudos when due; I challenge you to do the same.

Steve-O says:

August 31, 2007 at 11:21 pm

I think we should just rename this the “jamie” blog…..just kidding jamie!

You are semi-correct about comparison of districts’ benefits and compensation packages: it is IMPOSSIBLE to do, NOT unfair. The links I posted above are extremely similar as far as information given, so they’re an excellent starting point for compensation comparison. But I’ve gone a bit farther than that for readers on the blog. After speaking over the last 2 years with 5 teachers who have left KISD for the greater teaching “riches” (insert laugh here) in other districts (with nearly identical job responsibilities for classes, clubs, etc. while teaching at very similar=type campuses) that I’ve listed above, I’ve learned there are a couple of reasons for this:

1. Most districts are uniformly vague/noncommital/inconsistent with stipends and who receives them. Some stipends come and go on administrative whims, some are available MOST academic school years, and just a few NEVER go away – regardless of budget constraints. However, since most known stipends are less than $2.000, teachers rarely give them major consideration when switching districts.

2. As for insurance, teachers can only use their personal family situations for comparison. In that vein, using my extremely small but fairly representative sample (1 married/no kids; 2 married w/ kids; 1 single male; 1 single female w/ 2 kids) who all used KISD’s and their new district’s health plans for their families, here’s the breakdown:

2 said plans were cheaper

2 said they were about the same

1 said it was more expensive

So where’s does that leave us? With the biggest difference in money occurs (excluding salary): transportation expenses. Of the five teachers, 2 live in KISD, 2 live just outside the district’s borders, and 1 lives FAR outside the district. Based on their experiences, 2 saw savings of $1000-$1500, 2 saw savings of about $2000, and 1 realized savings of nearly $4000. When they added their salary differences, transportation savings and health benefits savings (or subtracted the extra costs), the average overall increase netted between $2000-$5000. That doesn’t even include the fact 3 of them now receive small stipends for handling the same extracurricular activities that in KISD were simply considered “mandatory contract responsibilities”,a s one teacher put it.

So does this mean KISD is cheap and all of our wonderful teachers are going to start rushing from our schools? Not at all! But it is definitely worth noting that I’ve heard a lot more about these types of situations much more frequently in the last 3-4 years than in the first 10-12 years I lived in the district, and that should concern everyone. Or, residents can simply consider these isolated cases and continue believing that the district is better off without out these “sourpusses” (Did I mention that 4 of the 5 had been nominated for Teacher of the Year on their campus at least once?).

Which side of the road do readers on this blog?

(Also, charris911, I am well aware that teachers’ salaries do not come from bond money. I have never implied, inferred or written that in any of my posts. I don’t know why you may have mentioned that, other than as a weak attempt to discredit my previous post. If I am wrong, please provide examples and I will be happy to apologize. After all, nobody here is right all the time – except for jamie, Katy Taxes and Helen!)

Steve-O says:

August 31, 2007 at 11:36 pm

jamie:

I forgot to credit you for pointing out that there is definitely increased transparency in KISD’s financial and academic dealings. You are absolutely correct.

The only problem is that apparently KISD has had to be pushed and shoved at times before they offered some of this tranparency. I’m not just talking about the Watchdogs; I’ve spoken with several other residents who have attempted to find out information and simply gave up when the district either dragged their feet to the last possible legal day to turn over the info or gave incomplete/inaccurate data from what was initially requested. This, of course, forced residents to file a new request go back to step 1. While these residents may be lying to me, I see no possible gain for them to do so.

No matter what, KISD will never be as transparent as some parties demand. It just ain’t gonna happen!

Lisa says:

September 1, 2007 at 12:08 am

Here, here, Katy Taxes. You are awesome!!!

jamie says:

September 1, 2007 at 12:16 am

Katy Taxes,

Despite many claims, neither you nor anyone else has shown that what the district has done could be done less expensively with the same beneficial result. Now some have claimed to be able to do this, but they have never shown any actual information. We hear about contractors who were locked out of being able to bid on a project or structures that could be built for half of what KISD estimated, but nothing really concrete has been shown. It’s all just rumor and innuendo.

Go to the KISD website and look at the bond review committee information. We now have an online check register and I will admit that it is not the catastrophe that I predicted it could be. The board meetings (work study and otherwise) have always been open to the public. We have transparency.

I am glad to hear that those that opposed the previous administration have expressed approval of the Board’s choice of Mr. Frailey. Kudos to them. Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come.

The “old TVs” will be hard to replace/repair in 2007 (not good for education), difficult to repair in 2008 (not good for education) and impossible to replace in 2009 (bad for education). Moreover they will be just as costly as the LCDs which are replacing them by 2008 and more costly in 2009 so it makes absolutely no sense to continue buying them. However, the district will maintain a set of them for replacements over the next six years until the transition is complete. In sum, to blindly insist that the district fail to phase out what will soon be outdated technology is akin to expecting us all to be using VCRs or eight-tracks. Stop criticizing the district when it makes the right decisions with our tax dollars.

I never said KISD was perfect, but I will defend it if I feel that it is being unfairly criticized.

Lisa,

I do not consider myself any more passionate than the most vocal critics of the district, but I try to temper my passion with facts and reality. It is easy to say that developers should pay more and I might even agree with you, but to expect the district to drive a hard bargain assumes that the district has more power than it actually does.

As I pointed out developers have partnered with the district to donate land, but they cannot be forced to do so under current law.

I agree with you that sitting on a rezoning committee is a difficult task. There are so many interests to balance and it is important to have people who can work profitably within a group. These committees are not like the Texas Legislature which can postpone decisions for many years. The KISD administration has the responsibility for managing these meetings to ensure that a consensus of some sort is reached. To expect otherwise is to be naïve.

As for my favorite flavor of ice cream, I am holding out for a kool-aid flavor

charris911 says:

September 2, 2007 at 4:29 pm

Land is purchased where schools will be needed. The subdivisions are coming in, the district knows who owns each and every piece of property. The demographers and KISD staff talk with these people…do they always get it right…NO. They underestimated the north end building, hence no 9th grade center when MRHS was built. School district of every size use these services for estimates. If it took a month to build a campus, then you probably would not need to guess…but when you have to plan one to two or more years out, there is some level of guessing.

Values of property, already high on the southside, and skyrocketing on the northside. They paid $35,000/per acre for the HS#7 site. That is a great value, I wish I could find a couple of acres in KISD at that price.

They should buy more land NOW, before we have to pay three times that in a decade.

Oh and I was at the Merrell Center on Friday, and every time I am there I thank L.E. Merrell for such a wonderful acomplishment. It reminds me of when Rhodes Stadium was built, some in the community howled that it was a worthless investment in a flood zone. When former Superintendent James E. Taylor proposed Taylor High School in the late 1970′s, some in the community said it will never be at capacity, its a waste of taxpayer money.

Sherry says:

September 2, 2007 at 10:20 pm

charris911, I agree completely. In fact, when we moved into our Lakes of Bridgewater home 11 years ago, Royce Homes told us that our neighborhood (directly across from Golbow) would be the second lowest priced Royce Homes neighborhood in the area (Bridgewater Pointe was scheduled to be the lowest priced at that time). The area around the duck pond was supposed to be patio homes for seniors. The other areas were supposed to be a mix of large homes and large patio homes, many in gated communities. They even showed us a map. Yes, it was a “master-planned community”! Golbow was crowded that year, with many kids coming from as far away as Barker’s Ridge, but as soon as McRoberts opened the next year, it dropped to 600-700 students. A few years go by and they sell the land to KB Homes, who begins building hundreds and thousands of very low priced homes on small lots, meaning many more children than originally planned for. This has continued now for a number of years so the district is playing catch-up with the changes to projections. Until Royce Homes sold the land, and KB Homes became established, there was no way of knowing that this area would explode. Believe me, if we had known, we wouldn’t have moved here.

Lisa says:

September 3, 2007 at 5:54 am

Jaime,

One of my t.v’s is over 15 years old and the other at least 10 and I don’t have any problem getting either of them serviced. I prefer “sno-balls” than ice cream. When did they start serving Kool-Aid down there at the Admin building cafe? Just hope someone doesn’t pull a “Jim Jones” with it!!! LOL!!!

Steve-O,

If you are who I think you are, then I REALLY have a lot of respect for you. Hope you haven’t been “thrown under the bus” too many times for the sake of the department. When is “she” retiring and then you can take it all over? Hope you get a decent raise then!!!

Charris911 – there truly isn’t a whole lot of land left for KISD to buy. They just bought land for a new elementary right down from Mayde Creek Elem/Jr. Complex and are looking at another site on Clay Road and Pine Forest. I am just angry that we have paid a demographic company a small fortune over many, many years and they have proven to be a poor return on investment. I know that it’s an unexact science, but seriously, I feel like the District was fleeced on this one and I have to wonder if it wasn’t because of some political connection to the previous Admin.? As a licensed educator AND a business person, it just “tinkles” me off to waste any more money than we have to. Steve-O is VERY CORRECT in his above post about the teachers. I just get very angry when I know that the wasted $$$’s could be used to prop up the teachers and other good, decent, hard working KISD staff people. I wonder when the last time the Cafeteria, Janitorial and Maintenance People had a decent raise? Talk about being over worked and under appreciated!!! And don’t EVEN get me started about their benefits – just a few years ago, they got raises but their insurance went up and the raises didn’t even cover what the increases were, so everyone ended up losing ground instead of gaining anything.

Got to go and get me some kool-aid!!!!!

Sherry says:

September 3, 2007 at 12:03 pm

This is going to be a long post, but since I have a day off, I wanted to address several previous posts.

Lisa – As a “licensed educator” and a frequent reader and poster on this blog, you should know that it is ILLEGAL for bond money to be used for salaries, so that is yet another very tired and false argument, if that is what you are implying. If the demographers are paid from the money that could be used to fund salaries, my question is, “How much are they paid?” If they are paid $100,000 each year, at over 6,000 employees in the district, spread out evenly, that would amount to no more than a $17 annual difference in my salary. Wow! I could take my family to McDonald’s once!

You should also know that teachers aren’t “licensed”. Daycare workers, babysitters, and dogs are “licensed”. Teachers and other insane people are “certified”!

My television is about 15 years old, and when it breaks, it will be replaced, not repaired. The last time it was repaired, about 8 years ago, cost $250, so another repair of that magnitude is not justified on a tv that originally cost $400. The only reason we had it repaired then is because we were aware that the technology was changing fast, the new models were extremely expensive, and we decided to hold out for a stabilization in the market. That time is now. The new models are quite inexpensive compared to what they were selling for a few years ago. My son frequently considers ways to sabotage the tv without us finding out because he yearns for a large screen HDTV!

KatyTaxes, I am offended that you don’t think the TAKS scores in KISD are a reason to come here. As a teacher who worked very hard to ensure that all of my students were well educated AND passed the TAKS, I think the scores are impressive. We, as a district, are still significantly above the state averages in all areas. We are also significantly above the region averages in all areas. We actually did better this year than last in all areas except Science, where we fell from 85% to 84%. As has previously been stated, Science, and Science alone, is what caused the rating to drop, but the drop was actually due to the changes in the system, not the passing rate. The only subgroup that went down was White, and that went from 91% to 90%, a score still in the Exemplary range. Our separate and combined SAT scores are still among the highest in the area and above the state and national averages. I believe that Friendswood is the only district in the area that beat us on combined. You claim to support the teachers, but your frequent references to the drop in ratings is actually a slap in our faces, especially when you assume that the district did worse this year.

James Wonder – I’m not exactly sure what you are saying, but is it that teacher’s kids are causing the overcrowding? Some time ago, KISD closed the door to teacher’s kids who come from out of the district. For those who live in the district, teachers can choose to have their kids at the school where they work, or if another level, the school closest to where they work. Some teachers take advantage of this policy, but many, including me, do not. My kids are zoned to and attend MRHS. They love it, and I couldn’t drag them out without a lot of drama. Teacher’s kids account for a very small number of students anyway. In my grade, there are 3 teacher’s kids – 2 live in the zone, 1 does not, but her home school is Golbow, which is even more crowded than ours. As far as students who are not teacher’s kids, last I heard, most, if not all, high schools were closed to transfers. I’m sure a few get by, I personally know of one, but exactly how many students do you think we are talking about?

Lisa says:

September 3, 2007 at 9:56 pm

Sherry,

Please tell me that you do not teach math or basic economics. I possess a state license in another profession and I am “certified” as a teacher, that DOES make ME a LICENSED EDUCATOR. The day I allow an employer of mine to keep one red cent that I have coming to me, much less $17.00 (using your example there), is the day I should be CERTIFIED!!!! Let’s ask your son what he could do with $17.00!!!

As far as t.v repairs and replacements go, well, it use to be that the vocational education departments in schools taught those not on the college or professional track, a skill the would enable them to become employable after graduation. The 70 year old gentleman who repairs my tv’s uses the extra cash he makes to prop up his limited income and occasionaly eat out at McDonalds. He became interested in his trade in high school and pursued it through the military service. I’m positive for $17.00 he could “school” your son in multiple ways on how to sabotage your tv so you could purchase your much desired made in China keeping up with the Joneses, new technology HDTV.

I never once implied that bond money should be used for salaries. How much are demographers paid? In this District, IMHO, they’ve been paid too much for far too long!! “A penny saved = a penny earned” – B . Franklin Discover of Electricity on which televisions run!

Steve-O says:

September 3, 2007 at 11:33 pm

Sherry:

Good info about student transfers. KISD, like FBISD, seemed to have tightened up their transfer and placement policies years ago. There’s not much to complain about that I can see. A few teachers’ kids barely create a ripple; they would only have any effect if they were out-of-district students who attended KISD only because their parent(s) worked here.

However, Katy Taxes does make a point with his TAKS argument. For years the district has bragged about its rating and scores as a major reason people move to KISD. Yet now, even though most of the district’s overall scores have improved, KISD publicity is strangely quiet about the scores. Instead, they are spinning the fact that the standards have changed and that’s to blame for the ratings sag. Frankly, I’m surprised more has not been published, broadcast, mailed, etc. touting mostly higher scores overall. I’m pretty curious about that – as a teacher, aren’t you too?

Lisa:

I can assure you that I am not who you think I am. I am happily employed in the private sector and my only direct connection with KISD is through my children’s attendance in KISD schools for the past 12 years. I am just a guy who happens to be acquainted with some people in interesting KISD employment positions (current and former) in a social context. Sorry, you give me too much credit!

Lisa says:

September 4, 2007 at 9:33 am

Mea Culpa, Steve-O. For extra, extra credit – what flavor of Kool-Aid do you think we should serve at the proposed Town Hall meeting, what kinds of things would you like to see discussed, dialogued and debated and what kind of ice cream do you like? I like grape Kool Aid myself!!;):)

Katy Taxes says:

September 4, 2007 at 12:03 pm

KISD with its deep pockets has decided to wholesale replace working TV’s. The TV’s should be replaced by attrition (certainly not repaired). That means if one breaks, you replace it. Very simple concept… Like living within your means… I know, both are a concept that escapes many people these days.

This is financial mismanagement at the finest and there is NO valid fiscally responcible or educational need for it.

And Sherry, bless you, but you completely missed my point on TAKS. My point is the irony that KISD is laying low now. So much weight was publically thrown into the rating when it was higher.

No reflection on you as a person or your abilities… so step back… take a deep breath… ahhhh – much better.

Grape Kool-Aid for Katy Taxes!!!

Katy Taxes says:

September 4, 2007 at 4:07 pm

BTW – I have no problem with replacing BROKEN TV’s with current technology. I never said otherwise, and if you look back, you’ll see that I have said that before…

I am still waiting to hear a VALID reason to replace the working TV’s. Haven’t gotten one yet. Why? Because there ISN’T one… Financial… Educational… Technical… None.

Sherry says:

September 4, 2007 at 7:24 pm

So if I have a driver’s license and I’m certified as a teacher, that makes me a licensed educator? Sorry, it just doesn’t work for me. I am a certified teacher because I have a teaching certificate, not licese.

By the way, 3 of my 90 students didn’t pass the TAKS test last year. I believe that is a 96.7% passing rate for a group that only had an 82% passing rate the previous year, so not only do I teach Math in a north side school, I’m very good at what I do.

I personally think the demographers have done a great job with the information that they have. Nobody could have predicted the growth explosion Katy has experienced over the past 10, or even 5, years. It wasn’t that long ago that Katy was considered the country. My point is that I am glad to give up $17 each year to this company that I think makes pretty darn good educated guesses (off by 0.6% this year). I really don’t like McDonald’s anyway.

My employer keeps many of my red cents, not only the red cents that I pay in taxes, but also the red cents that I pay for various fees at my children’s school, the red cents that I pay to get supplies for the kids in my class who don’t bring their own (about $25 last week), and the red cents that I pay for classroom materials and books. I consider it an investment in my future and the future of my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. I’m glad Ben Franklin discovered electricity, but I’m much more of a believer in the biblical story about the workers who invested their “talents” vs. the one who buried his.

I think that the reason KISD has been quiet on the scores is because they are focused on improving the scores even more in an attempt to clear the ever rising hurdle. They know the reason, anyone who actually takes the time to look at the scores knows the reason, enough said.

Furthermore, my son doesn’t need any help. He is a Katy native, educated within the KISD system, is naturally smart, a child of the electronic era, and could come up with many ways to break our television. Fortunately, he is also smart enough to know better because he has good parents.

Steve-O says:

September 4, 2007 at 10:32 pm

Lisa:

Isn’t the best kind a mix of 50% grape (Watchdogs) and 50% of whatever KISD is drinking.

Of course, most of the meeting would simply be a “discussion” over what constitutes 50% each, who would/should appoint the “independent” mixers would be, etc…………….

charris911 says:

September 5, 2007 at 12:49 am

Katy Taxes,

The reason to replace working TV’s with updated models, is so that each school will be comparable. There are some TV’s at the older campuses that are unable to run a DVD.

Also, replacing parts on a similar fleet of audio/visual equipment for the next decade will reduce cost overall. When you look at the number of updated models being purchased, as opposed to the older working TV’s, the cost are not disproportionate.

I am sure there are some film projects that could still be dusted off for our students. If the projectors do not work they could be sent off to the local film projector repairman, BUT it may just cost less to purchase a new TV for use the next decade or so.

James Wonder says:

September 5, 2007 at 6:25 am

Sherry,

You got the gist of my post. Although you feel KISD has tightened the policy, what is the policy and does it need to be formally reviewed? Is it enforced and by who? At my childrens schools even one transfer adversely affects class size. They have classes that do not have enough chairs due to overcrowding and students have to stand or sit through class which is not the right environment for upper school classes. My point is that we should have everyone attend their zoned school so we know the actual demographics of each school and plan accordingly. My point with the teachers children is that in some cases, teacher will choose to teach at a school or near a school they want their children to go to as opposed to the school where they live is zoned to. Better education, facilities and ability to play sports seems to be the reason for the transfer as opposed to convenience for the teacher. I think everything should be leveled so we can plan.

Lisa says:

September 5, 2007 at 9:53 am

Steve-O,

Ha, ha ha, too funny. At summer camp, we always mixed whatever flavors of left over Kool-Aid together and called it “Bug Juice.” So, I don’t really care about the percentages, I just care that we get enough people to care, period. And if it’s just a few of the dedicated Watchdogs who are willing to meet at the campfire with bug juice and marshmellows, well, that’s fine too. Involvement is much better than apathy, regardless of how much or where one is involved. Between you and me and Helen’s TERRIFIC blog, we’ll keep “stirring it up, baby.”

Katy Taxes says:

September 6, 2007 at 11:50 am

More on the TV’s…

INVALID REASON – The reason to replace working TV’s with updated models, is so that each school will be comparable.

Ummm. WHAT? You *have* to be kidding, right? I can hear it now: “Well THAT school has the cool flat TV’s, so we feel left out”. But to be honest, I figured that this was the real reason…

MORE MERRELITE MISINFORMATION – There are some TV’s at the older campuses that are unable to run a DVD.

Anybody who has ever been to Radio Shack can tell you that there are alllll kinds of adapters which can be used on ANY TV… I know… It’s not “cool” like the new schools have.

charris911 says:

September 6, 2007 at 2:24 pm

Katy Taxes,

So you want the district to use *your* money, to purchase more equipment for these old TV’s? I am actually suprised, to hear you say that!

Comparable schools has nothing to do with being *cool*, you missed my point. Purchasing additional (yes NEW) TV, that are the SAME and that will be used for the next one to two decades, is less expensive than holding onto the current older models. Replacement of the TVs the district owned about 25,000 students ago, is very small compared to the value that we are getting.

Plus no adapters or expensive trips for repair, ordering parts…etc. One TV model, one repair cycle, able to switch out equipment, current technology to keep pace with the HD and other education material being used.

*MORE MERRELITE MISINFORMATION*

I never spoke to him about the subject. Isnt he gone? Move on.

Sherry says:

September 6, 2007 at 10:13 pm

I want to know who to complain to because my campus is completely equipped with old TVs. I hate to be “uncool”! Seriously, we are all a little jealous of the pretty new schools, but I still see many advantages in staying where I am in my humble northside school. I love my administrators, my team, my students. I love being able to control the thermostat in my T-building, getting exercise walking miles each day in and out of the school, having the natural beauty of my humidified hairdo, getting wet when it rains (believe it or not, the rain always falls sideways, so the covered walkways are nice for the sun, but not much for the rain) and knowing when the weather is getting bad because the building is shaking. Let’s not forget the lovebugs that my students are constantly grabbing and throwing on each other as we parade in and out. I love parent involvement, but…there is definitely truth in too much parent involvement, and I mean the ones who are in the school everyday, ignore the rules of the Raptor system that says you can only be in the area designated by your nametag, drop in unannounced several times a day, want to have a conversation about their kid in the middle of class, wonder why Ms. Jones down the hall is doing this project and you’re not, sit down with their child to assist them in their classwork, etc. Luckily, the parents of my students are wonderful!

A.D. Muller says:

September 6, 2007 at 10:44 pm

We need the truth in our drop rates, some estimate HISD’s is near 40%. KISD is delusional and continues to imply 92% of our children “plan” to go to college. Katy bond issues propose “HD” televisions, 7 million dollar swimming pools with diving boards and $600,000 concession stands. Why don’t we worry about the true drop out rates? Maybe, there’s a small chance 25% of our kids will actually graduate from a four-year college. In Katy, we worry about TV’s swimming pools and concession stands. Start worrying about the 75% who are not so fortunate

charris911 says:

September 7, 2007 at 12:43 pm

A.D. Muller the district does concern themselves with students and educating them. Other activities are also, part of the education process. The district spends money to have the capital projects for all our students. It may not be a concern to you that, parents, fans and students cannot see a baseball game to support their school…but it does concern many of us. And it concerned over half of the voters.

Every time I drive thru Katy, I see signs that the school buildings and facilities are in use before, during and after school. These improvements are part of our community and part of the district’s responsibility to educate ALL of our students.

Robin says:

September 8, 2007 at 6:07 am

I remember the T-shack maze at Taylor–and MPJH..etc. I had T-shacks at NCE when I was in the ‘upper grades’. I remembered when the weather was bad they made elementary grades come in the mail building. What did they make junior high and high school do?

I’m not sure of the age of the TV’s my classrooms were using.

A.D. Muller says:

September 8, 2007 at 10:30 am

Charris911

With the growth our district, tough decisions will have to be made. The $600,000 concession stand with an elevator will not add one seat for the public. (I hope the Hotdogs are cheap.) A $2,000,000.00 diving pool centers for a few students does not make sense when a lot of our neighbors cannot afford their mortgage. Please support our call for a town hall meeting.

Lisa says:

September 8, 2007 at 12:47 pm

And please, let’s not have the District have to shell out any “goodies” for all of us to nosh on when/and if we do have the very 1st KISD Town Hall Meeting. I’m going to “brown bag it” and bring marshmellows for the s’mores and grape kool-aid to drink. If you’re nice to me, I might even share. BYOBb stands for “Bring Your Own Brown bag!!! Please, no alcohol!!!!!I would like to recommend that KISD provide an area for child care and utilize students from all the high schools who are working on their RSVP community service hours to man a child care area for the community for this event. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone has a sitter nor can afford one in this District. A fishbowl could be set out for voluntary contributions (pocket change) and whatever money is donated to these students who would be giving up their free time for community service, well they could all get together and go out for pizza after the event. For safety and security purposes, I would suggest at parent check in that a “sticker-security” system be utilized when dropping off children in the child care area. I would also suggest a valet parking stand to be manned by a group of over 18 parents or possibly KISD police. If you have ever attended an event at the “Jelly Dome” you have to park out in the boonies and hike forever because the parking situation there is kind of crazy. I’m healthy and can probably manage the hike, but there are lots of older citizens and people with disabilities that cannot find a spot even with a handicap tag that may have a bit of trouble. Please have one of the nice brand new small busses available for a shuttle delivery system available as well. It would not hurt to make sure that the bathrooms are well stocked with lots of extra tp and soap and hand towels. Last event I attended all were in short supply. Does anyone have any suggestions for the day, date and time for the desired KISD “Kommunity” Town Hall Meeting? Any suggestions on agenda? Who will lead this meeting? Guess I should begin to shop for an outfit now, I want to look good when I exercise my Constitutional right to Free Speech!!! LOL!!! See you all there!!!! And District – call me if you need voluntary help in setting this up, my friends and I would love to help!!!

Sherry says:

September 8, 2007 at 2:30 pm

AD – Exactly the “self-serving spin” that I referred to in another post. The concession stand is part of a project to add bleachers to the KHS baseball field and make it ADA compliant (thus the elevator). Are you going to be there to carry a wheelchair up the stairs to the pressbox, or are you suggesting the handicapped people shouldn’t be allowed to be in the pressbox?

The diving pool is part of a project to rebuild the natatorium at MCHS. Many students will be using it, not just 4 as you claimed in other post.

This is exactly why the other PAC was formed. To refute information such as this. I hope that the other Watchdogs are embarrassed by the continued misinformation.

charris911 says:

September 9, 2007 at 12:49 am

Thanks Sherry, you are right. Currently the seating and concession areas (bathrooms) were built when KHS was a 3A school! I had to take my 2 yo daughter into that bathroom last baseball season, and I can tell you it was not pleasant. I wish a softball field upgrade was included (maybe next bond), along with renovation to the KHS west campus. Tiger Stadium has long needed an overhaul, varsity was still playing there last time it received new upgrades.

We must continue to push to maintain our facilities, as we make *tough decisions* with building new facilities. Holding onto the same TV that your grandmother used or letting a building fall below acceptable or usable standard is not a solution.

Robin says:

September 10, 2007 at 6:21 am

This is a good point, memories are important to cherrish.

But inadequate compliance with current-day building code standards only means that current day generations of students will have a difficult (or impossible) time creating their own positive memories with the same educational facilities.

Each subsequent generation deserves the opportunity to be able to utilize district facilities in order to create positive memories.

Just A Taxpayer says:

September 10, 2007 at 12:50 pm

I guess I just don’t see the point of replacing good TV’s for those fancy flat screens. Whatever happened to living within your means? Whatever happened to having NO credit card debt or bond debt?

Here is what I’d like to see….a report from Katy ISD on what schools are having TV’s replaced and what the age of the current TV’s are that are being replaced. Then we could all see the truth here!

charris911 says:

September 10, 2007 at 2:38 pm

*Whatever happened to having NO credit card debt or bond debt?*

Special taxing districts are authorized to hold bond elections, for a reason. Capital projects that cannot be supported by the m&o budget.

This has only been law in Texas since about 1917. The catch in a growing district, is that the district must have the facilities in place when the students arrive. The attendence money from the state and your tax dollars is not received until the following year, after the students have arrived. If the mnt & operations budget covered the cost of a new building…etc, then it would be a solution, as it is the m&o budget is already eaten up in over 85% employee salary and benefits (this is the operation part).

Look at the current facilities (the maintenance part) you will not find anything extravagant.

Just A Taxpayer, I would like to see not what age model is being replaced, but what capability is being replaced. OR what is being purchased for the new campuses, and what the actual cost of purchasing a relativly small number to replace old TV’s at older campuses (instead of putting more money into adapters and repair). I think we will all find that *cool*.

sherry says:

September 13, 2007 at 7:43 pm

Since the other topic is apparently closed to comments, I feel compelled to respond to Lisa here. Why should Jamie offer a solution? It’s obvious that he is very supportive of the district and doesn’t think there’s a problem! Don’t fix it if it’s not broke! I also won’t offer any solutions, because I don’t think any are needed. I would like to hear details of the Watchdog solutions, but I’m not going to any extra trouble to do so, so I guess I won’t ever know exactly what they this is broken and can be fixed.

jamie says:

September 13, 2007 at 9:53 pm

CHris and Lisa,

What solutions have you offered? I think that the students, parents, teachers, the Board and the KISD administration are doing (and have done) an excellent, if not perfect, job of generating solutions to the challenges facing us. Therefore, I do not see a need to provide “solutions” so that Chris can have lower taxes at the expense of the students and teachers of KISD.

I want an honest dialogue right here on this blog.

Why is it so difficult for you to post your cost cutting ideas here? Could it be that you have none? Could it be that you fear that the “hard decisions” you think KISD should make would be unpopular with some? Could it be that you are concerned that your cost cutting ideas might be shown to be unrealistic or based upon flawed information?

Lisa says:

September 14, 2007 at 6:20 am

Sherry,

I think it’s terrific that both you and Jaime have taken a side and dug in and formulated your opinions and refuse to be budged. I and many of the other Watchdog$ have chosen to do just the opposite and offer solutions to what we feel are problems that needed to be brought to the attention to the tax paying public on behalf of our children and our pocketbooks, or at least a desire to dialogue and interface with many others to discuss problems and proposed solutions to them. Many of these solutions had to do directly with the bond proposal of which the first one the Watchdog$ played a significant part in aiding to it’s defeat. I personally wanted to be on the bond committee to offer up some solutions and was not even considered. Perhaps it’s my independent thinking mind and the fact that I refuse to by “Delphied” or perhaps it’s because I am a Watchdog, who knows? I understand that you are “not going to any extra trouble” to “hear details of the Watchdog solutions” and I can respect that. Would it be possible to just say that we respectfully agree to disagree on some fine points of this District and leave it at that?

Sherry says:

September 14, 2007 at 9:28 pm

Lisa,

Wrong. It’s not that I refuse to be budged. It’s that I haven’t seen or heard anything valid that would cause me to be budged. Even at the time of the bond proposal, I didn’t see many solutions from the Watchdogs, just “we don’t like that, we don’t think the district needs that, we think that can be done cheaper”, etc. Also remember, the second bond passed for more money that the original bond and my children are in an overcrowded school of almost 3,000 students that doesn’t have a 9th grade center because of the failed bond. Am I a Watchdog supporter? NO! Will I ever be? NO! Will we ever agree on anything? Probably, but since the Watchdog facts are scarce, it’s hard to say.

jamie says:

September 14, 2007 at 10:11 pm

Lisa,

At my job and in my community I have been on various committees through the years and what I have found is that although I am very opinionated and consider myself an independent thinker, it is important for me to try to be a part of the group process if I am to be part of the solution. I have been in some groups in which we have so many “independent thinkers” that no decision is possible. I believe that KISD needs independent thinkers who know how to work in a group.

Chris wrote that he wanted to move past the 2006 bond and I am trying to oblige. I will try to view any cost cutting solutions that you or others have to offer with an open mind. What can be cut from the 2007-2008 budget and future budgets?

Lisa says:

September 15, 2007 at 4:24 pm

Jaime,

How about starting by cutting out the costs of the “pro-bond propoganda” that has “suddenly” shown up all around the District. How much did these signs cost all of us and why have we never seen this before? And they are not just outside A LOT of schools but I’ve seen them inside the schools as well. See, according to Mr. Fraley’s predecessor, “we’ll be ready for some big time bond money, soon.” Guess what Cy-Fair has that cost $80 million that will be coming our way in the near future? The bond that lost and the bond after that one may seem to you to be no big deal, but to me that was a very significant look at the future “graffiti” on the wall and it wasn’t written in baby blue sharpie with a heart drawn around it, either. A question to ask that a lot of us have wondered about is this, why was Morton Ranch built without a 9th grade center in the first place? Bottom line, it boils down to money and politics, not what’s really in the best interests of the education of the children nor those of us who are footing the bills, to say nothing of the community at large. Maybe, just maybe, we allowed those in charge of the store to waste too much money on the little things in the past and some I see now, like the pro-bond signs/”sky trash” and the smaller signs I have seen inside the school buildings.

Sherry says:

September 16, 2007 at 10:03 am

How about starting by spelling Jamie’s name correctly?

Anyway, the “pro-bond propaganda” is for your benefit, so the Watchdogs and others will know that the money is being spent exactly as planned, kind of like the road project signs that Steve Radack puts on the roads. I don’t need the signs because I trust the district to use my money well.

If you’re referring to a new football stadium, then yes, the district will probably need that soon. Our 7th and 8th high schools are already in the planning stages, and there’s just so much you can do with one football field. They have so far figured out how to arrange the schedule using Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, games at home, games away, games against each other, etc., but that will become more difficult with 8 schools. We are one of the largest districts in the area without 2 stadiums. As far as I can tell, Fort Bend has 3, Spring Branch has 2, Cy-Fair has 2, Houston has 4, Conroe has 2. It’s just logistics.

Tammy says:

September 16, 2007 at 7:10 pm

Lisa,

I’m new to this posting and confused. Why wouldn’t there be pro-bond signs around when we have students in over-crowded schools? Do you seriously want another bond to fail? I have read the postings about how portable buildings are fine and kids can be educated in them, etc. etc. etc. That is fine for a short term solution. But long-term, we do not want schools with that many students, do we? Already lunches begin at 10:45 in the morning and students have to be superstars to make varsity squads in both athletics and fine arts. The only thing I have read about cost cutting from the Watchdogs–I won’t use that obnoxious “$” for an “S” is to change the Homestead exemption and get rid of the additional $0.04–how is the District supposed to balance the budget without this revenue? What programs are to be cut? Whose jobs are to go and how would the services they provide be performed after the people lose their jobs? Maybe the watchdogs want to raise class sizes? The watchdogs will say empty the evil admin building–who should go? and how will they work these people do be accomplished?

Sorry to go on so long–I just don’t get it.

jamie says:

September 16, 2007 at 10:04 pm

Lisa,

Although most KISD bonds have passed by slim margins the failed May 2006 bond was a wake up call for all who support the funding of public education in KISD. People seemed to be misinformed about how their tax dollars were spent and the signs represent an effort to educate the public.

My guess is the signs cost $10,000 (perhaps $250 each for perhaps 40 signs). Maybe the signs were donated by the builders. My point is that $10,000 out of a projected 2007-08 annual budget of $464,703,380 is not even a drop in the bucket. To slash taxes you have to cut really big things, not “little things”. The “big time money” is being spent on instruction, instructional support, district operations (e.g., plant maintenance and operations), and debt service (new school buildings and maintenance of existing buildings).

Katy, Mayde Creek, Taylor and Cinco Ranch all started without ninth-grade centers just like Morton Ranch High School. The demographic work done for the 1999 bond indicated that builders would build fewer houses per acre in the Morton Ranch attendance zone, but the builders changed their plans.

The projected 2009 bond referendum promises to be interesting and expensive with two high schools and possibly another football stadium included. KISD currently has one stadium, but that is not going to be enough to accommodate eight to ten high schools at build out. While I am not keen on spending much on stadiums, some of our fellow citizens may feel differently and their opinions should be considered.

Lisa says:

September 19, 2007 at 1:18 pm

$10,000 here, .04 cents there, etc, etc. It may not seem but a “drop in the bucket” to you, but to me it is $$$ and it could be better spent elsewhere. It all adds up eventually and any waste is too much for me. To my knowledge, there were never any previous signs before, so there weren’t any previous expenses associated with them. The overcrowded schools can be directly attributed to the overpaid demographers that we put so much stock in, not builders changing their minds. This District knew many years before just exactly how much land was left down to the exact part and parcel and pricetag. I don’t believe the District will ever balance their budget if they cannot live withing their means and $10,000 here and there certainly can help and go a long way to providing some assistance. Sometimes it IS the little things, like for instance, the number of years that certain schools in this District were not maintained (see AP Mary Margaret Crandall at MCHS as she squeegeed out B Hall every time it rained because the roof leaked and it was a safety issue). I want an itemized bond proposal next bond election and I want to see what the people think we really need versus what the long list of District wants are. Sorry, but a “super stadium” isn’t high on my priority list. Football isn’t a requirement for graduation.

Sherry says:

September 19, 2007 at 6:04 pm

No, football isn’t a requirement for graduation, but it does keep some kids in school, making sure that their grades are good, so they can graduate. This includes athletes, drill team, band, color guard, cheerleaders, trainers, etc. Besides, this is Texas and if you don’t support high school athletics, especially football, you are certainly in the minority.

What is the definition of a balanced budget? I would say that it’s having enough money coming in to cover the money going out. I believe that the KISD budget is balanced. Growing, yes, but so is the district, so that is expected.

Again, the overcrowded schools are a combination of factors: 1) the failed bond last November directly resulted in MRHS being extremely overcrowded this year; 2) the developers changed their plans midstream (previous posting in another area regarding Royce Homes and Lakes of Bridgewater); and 3) nobody’s crystal ball is perfect. The demographers are always very close on their short-term predictions and in an acceptable range on their long-term predictions, but nobody predicted the growth in the Houston and Katy area, much of which was caused by the enormous growth in the Hispanic population.

Now, my mom taught me if I can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all, so I better exercise my right to shut up now.

Lisa says:

September 20, 2007 at 4:44 pm

FINALLY!!!!!!!

Lisa says:

September 26, 2007 at 3:05 am

I most definetely want to be on the community committee that aids, assists and abets the decision about the highly anticipated new stadium. I am a huge HS athletics supporter and love football and recently attended my first game in the $80 million mansion in Cy-Fair. I have a huge laundry list of complaints about this facility and a few kudos as well. There are some things we can certainly improve on and the first one was the unbelievable lack of community feel to the place. My two children were frisked like it was visiting day at the prison by some extremely unfriendly people who were “just doing their job.” Sorry, but one of the things I adore about Rhodes Stadium is the closeness of community in the all bench seating. The stadium seating at Cy-Fair had plenty of leg room and nifty drink holders but no upper body room whatsoever. At least there is a cross ventilation at Rhodes as well. One half of Cy-Fair is blocked off by a building and the facility was very hot, much hotter than Rhodes ever gets. The most interesting thing is that the visitors side is facing the sun setting in the west. I have to say that the availability of Dippin Dots was by and far my most favorite thing.

http://blog.chron.com/insidekaty/2007/08/growing-pains-continue-for-katy-isd/