(Updated: April 29, 2011)

2011-12 Budget/Staffing/Program Questions & Answers

Has the ESC ballooned with positions since 2008? No.  Katy ISD’s administrative costs of approximately four percent of the District’s expenditures are well below the state allowable standard of 11 percent for a district our size.  After being in the District for a year, Superintendent Frailey reorganized the administrative structure for improved efficiency and information flow.  While the organizational chart may appear to have been expanded, in reality, it reflects a repositioning of a number of roles and responsibilities.

Is Superintendent Frailey’s contract and salary the cause for staff reductions? The performance of the District in 2009-2010 was exceptionally good so the Board felt every employee deserved a three percent raise; however, the raise for the Superintendent was delayed until the conclusion of his evaluation.  In the past, it was standard procedure to give the Superintendent’s raise at the same time that raises were given to all other employees.  However, the agreement with Superintendent Frailey delays any raise he may receive until after his evaluation has been completed.  His evaluation, based on the previous year’s performance, was finalized and approved in January 2011.  Superintendent Frailey then received the same three percent raise as all other Katy ISD employees for the 2010-2011 budget year.

Parts of the Superintendent’s contract were approved and funded in 2009, including a one-time payment of additional compensation and one -time contribution to purchase one-year of Out-of-State Service in TRS.  These costs will have no impact on the anticipated 2011-2012 budget including staffing.

Will the district consider using its fund balance, or rainy day fund, to offset teacher layoffs? The District currently has approximately $85 million in its General Operating Fund balance. Consideration will definitely be given to using a portion of these funds to help close the projected state funding shortfall.  The reduction in state funding will occur over a two- year period.  The actual state budget shortfall and how available state funds will be allocated to individual districts across Texas will only be determined when the state passes its final budget.  Therefore, Katy ISD must be conservative with the amount it commits from its fund balance.  The District is dependent upon its fund balance to continue operations during the time before the state revenue and property tax collections are received.

Has the district considered salary reductions as a way to save jobs? Current language in Chapter 21 of the Texas Education Code does not allow for teacher salary reduction.  There is talk in the current legislature to allow for teacher salary reduction but at this time we cannot.

How can we employ LVNs at schools when the Administrative Code states that school nurses are to be a RN? There is no mandate in either the Texas Education Code or the Texas Administrative Code for school districts to employ registered nurses. 

School districts are not required to employ school nurses. Therefore, school districts are free to determine their staffing needs.   It is true, however, that the Texas Administrative Code (TAC Chapter 153) defines “school nurse” as an RN.  The statute defines a school nurse as “an educator employed to provide full-time nursing and health care services and who meets all the requirements to practice as a registered nurse (RN) pursuant to the Nursing Practice Act and the rules and regulations relating to professional nurse education, licensure, and practice, and who has been issued a license to practice professional nursing.” 

A registered nurse is licensed to conduct nursing assessments and to create individualized healthcare plans for students with chronic conditions such as asthma, seizure disorders, diabetes, etc.  An LVN is not licensed to perform these duties. 

Licensed vocational nurses (LVNs) are employed in many school districts to assist in providing health services for students.  These professionals can either be supervised by a doctor or an RN.  The plan proposed by Katy ISD would maintain a number of RNs to supervise LVNs, to develop individualized healthcare plans as needed, and to perform special/invasive procedures.

Does the District anticipate a budget reduction in the athletic department?  If so, how will that impact current programs? Yes.  The Katy ISD Athletic Department’s overall budget will be reduced by 10 percent for 2011-2012. This reduction will require adjustments in the design of the athletic programs at the secondary level; however, students will still have access to quality athletic programs.

How will the elimination of one assistant band director at the high school level impact the overall program? High school band directors, along with principal support, will determine the expectations and schedule for their programs outside of the classroom day.  During the day, they will be offering TEKS-based required curriculum for the various band content areas to ensure student learning and skill development in courses that count toward graduation.

Will the elementary Two-Way Immersion program continue for the 2011-2012 academic year? The Two-Way Immersion program will continue for students currently enrolled; however, TWI enrollment will be suspended at this time for any new incoming Kindergarten students.

Special Ed personnel have been reduced across the district.  How can the remaining teachers and aides keep up with all the paperwork and other requirements that are demanded?  Will their success be monitored and adjusted mid-stream if necessary? The loss in the Special Education Department budget includes reductions in GOF and in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) – Title VI-B Grant. Because the numbers of students identified as having Autism (specifically in subpopulations of White and African American), are disproportionate, Katy ISD is required to set aside 15 percent of the IDEA funds on early intervention services. The requirement of this 15 percent set aside for 2011 – 2012 will impact staffing from the grant and is reflected in the staffing plan.

Because of the timing of these grant requirements, the Special Education Department was able to consider campus needs as reductions were considered and recommendations were made.  Caseloads and student-to-teacher ratios were analyzed throughout the continuum of services, and adjustments were made for special education services.  Department staff members are currently working on changes in processes in order to assist personnel in the completion of paperwork and to provide guidance to the ARD committees in determining appropriate services based on the individual needs of our students. Department staff will continue to work closely with the Human Resources (HR) Department upon receiving requests from campuses for additional personnel units to address program needs.  This partnership with the HR Department and campuses has allowed for these mid-stream adjustments to be made as necessary in order to meet the needs of the students and staff.

Katy ISD has reduced instructional support staff (GT, Academic Support, Dyslexia, etc.) throughout the district.  How does this affect the classroom ratio for these programs? In the past, Katy ISD assigned each campus 1.5 State Compensatory Education (SCE) positions and 0.5 dyslexia positions. Some campuses were allocated additional SCE staff positions upon principal request after demonstrating a need. State law and regulations mandate that SCE staffing and expenditures must be allocated based on need rather than a standard distribution across all campuses. In addition, SCE funds may only be expended on students who qualify for at-risk services according to the 13 state identified criteria.

To staff these positions for next year, Katy ISD examined the 13 state criteria for SCE and selected TAKS failures and the number of K-3 students who did not perform satisfactorily on the reading readiness test, two of the 13 state identified criteria for at-risk. Once the number of students was identified by campus, SCE staff was distributed based on need causing some campuses to gain positions and some campuses to lose positions. During the overall process, four staffing units were collapsed. The remaining SCE positions were allocated with ratios of 1:75 for elementary campuses, 1:100 for JH campuses, and 1:200 for high school campuses. These ratios will enable KISD to provide small group intervention with a ratio of 1:6 per elementary small group session and 1:15 for each secondary small group session. Staff will continue to monitor these ratios and make adjustments as necessary. 

For dyslexia, Katy ISD reallocated 33 total GOF positions to form a team of dyslexia itinerant teachers who will be assigned to campuses to provide direct dyslexia intervention at a ratio of 1:6. Forming this team will provide Katy ISD with the flexibility to assign staff to campuses based on the number of dyslexia students per campus, rather than having some campuses being overstaffed in this area and other campuses being understaffed.

Will the elementary Challenge (GT) program and the secondary GT program continue for the 2011-2012 academic year?  Yes.  The Challenge and secondary Gifted & Talented programs will continue as the GT design model for next year.

Was the Challenge/GT program staff reduced?  Yes, as were other programs throughout the district. However, services students receive will not be reduced.  There will be adjustments in teacher assignments and class sizes in a small number of cases, but the program design will stay the same.

Will employees who are terminated or resigned due to budget reductions have rehire priority when/if Katy ISD starts hiring again?  Katy ISD will give preference to candidates that resigned/terminated due to budget reductions as appropriate to positions being filled.

Why are we building new schools if we’re laying off teachers?  Despite education cuts across the state, the Katy area continues to grow – with a large portion of our district listed among the fastest growing communities in the country.  Therefore, we must create the room for students that are coming, as well as accommodate those campuses that are already over capacity. The district continues to look at cost saving opportunities associated with growth.

Why can’t we use bond funds to save teacher jobs? Bond funds are authorized by the voters to fund capital projects and cannot be used to fund general operating expenses. By law, teacher salaries cannot come from this fund.

What is the difference between the M&O Fund (maintenance and operations) and the Debt Services Fund? The M&O portion of the budget is use for general operating expenses such as salaries and operating costs to run the district. The Debt Services Fund is used to pay off debt related to capital projects.

I pay a lot of money in school taxes each year, so where are my tax dollars going? The district has published a Fast Facts document that outlines expenditure areas.

When will the new schools open? Three new elementary campuses and one new junior high campus are slated to open in fall 2012.  High School 7 is slated to open in 2013.

Why did the district give three percent raises last year if it knew that there was going to be a deficit?  One percent of the raise was mandated by state law.  The additional two percent was approved by the Board in order for the district to stay competitive with other districts.

How were teachers chosen for termination? Teachers and staff chosen for termination were those who had probationary contracts in the areas of reduction.

Will a list of eliminated positions be released to the public? Personnel information is treated with the utmost confidentiality.  Human Resources, in addition to immediate supervisors and/or campus administrators, are aware of staff members’ employment status.  However, professional contract personnel who choose to go through the termination/non-renewal process rather than resign, will have their positions listed as public information as the Board of Trustees votes on termination/non-renewals.

Will those being laid-off be eligible for unemployment? Katy ISD does not determine who will receive unemployment.  Information pertaining to unemployment can be obtained from Texas Workforce Commission.

Who received termination notices? The individuals receiving termination notices were those with Chapter 21 Probationary Contracts.  By law, Texas school districts must notify contract employees 45 days prior to the last day of instruction – which is April 19 for Katy ISD.

What are Probationary Contracts? Probationary contracts are given to employees who are new to Katy ISD, or new to the teaching profession. Employees who are new to the district but have previous educational experience receive a probationary contract for a minimum of one full year.  Employees who are new to the district and new to the profession receive a probationary contract for three full years.  A full year is defined by a teacher employed by the start of a contract year, through the end of that year – with no interruptions of employment.  Katy ISD has approximately 1,100 staff members with probationary contracts.

Has the Board of Trustees declared state financial exigency for Katy ISD? What exactly does financial exigency mean? The Board has not declared a state of financial exigency for the district.

Financial exigency is defined in District Policy DFF (Local) as any event or occurrence that creates a need for the District to reduce financial expenditures for personnel including, but not limited to, a decline in the District’s financial resources, a decline in enrollment, a cut in funding, a decline in tax revenues, or an unanticipated expense or capital need.

Doesn’t the Board of Trustees have to declare a state of financial exigency before teachers can be laid off? According to District Policy DFF (Local), a state of financial exigency must be called when a reduction in force requires the termination of an employee contract governed by Chapter 21 of the Education Code during the contract period, or a contract not governed by Chapter 21 of the Education Code during the contract period.

The Chapter 21 employees with probationary contracts who are receiving termination notices this week will complete their 2010-11 contract. They will not, however, receive new contracts for the 2011-12 school year.

Are the teachers in KISD unionized and do they have tenure rights? No, Katy ISD teachers are not unionized, and they do not have tenure rights.

Does KISD have teachers suspended but being paid at this time? No

Could administration duties/responsibilities be reduced through simplification of some processes? Administrative processes are being analyzed and recommendations are being made regarding duties that can be shared and/or reduced, while identifying which are instrumental in day-to-day district operations. Employees may be asked to assume additional responsibilities.

Could student organizations provide volunteers to handle many of the administrative processes? This is not a viable option.

Did the Katy ISD Board of Trustees schedule an emergency meeting on April 11 to discuss the district’s budget?  The Katy ISD Board of Trustees did not call an emergency meeting, but rather scheduled a special meeting, for April 11, which was posted 72 hours prior to the meeting. Emergency meetings are only called if immediate action is required of a governmental body because of an imminent threat to public health and safety, or because of a reasonably unforeseeable situation. In addition, in order to be eligible for a two-hour emergency meeting, the notice of an emergency item must clearly identify the emergency.