NEWS BRIEFS Katy ISD board approves compensation raises, contingent on tax rate election
Fort Bend County officials highlight success of We All Eat food insecurity program
BY HUNTER MARROW
BY ASIA ARMOUR
program were twofold: to provide meals to Fort Bend County residents faced with pandemic-related food insecurity and to sustain local Fort Bend County restaurants by provid- ing resources necessary to maintain patronage, retain employees and keep doors open, Love said. “When you support a restaurant, there is a whole economic ecosys- tem that is sup-
If Katy ISD’s voter-approval tax rate election passes Nov. 8, trustees plan to distribute that $23.6 million to employees. PROPOSING RAISES
During its Sept. 26 meeting, the Katy ISD board of trustees approved pay increases for all district employ- ees, contingent on the approval of an upcoming tax rate election during the Nov. 8 midterm elections. The board voted 6-1 to approve a 4% pay raise at the midpoint for all KISD employees with 3% of the raise distributed across all remaining paychecks for the 2022-23 school year, according to the district’s agenda documents. Trustee Victor Perez voted against the motion. With the approval, KISD would also restructure the compensation plan for classroom teachers, instruc- tional coaches, instructional coordi- nators and classroom tech designers, equalizing it for all employees in that pay grade, KISD Chief Human Resources Officer Brian Schuss said. “Equalizing that would, if the TRE passes, move everyone to the teacher hiring scale,” he said. “Everyone in that pay grade would be paid the same based on years of experience.”
At its conclusion in June, Fort Bend County’s We All Eat food insecurity program provided nearly 714,000 meals to over 7,600 residents and over $11 million in revenue to 28 restaurants throughout the county. Fort Bend County Auditor Ed Stur- divant called the program “highly successful” during a Sept. 13 Com- missioners Court meeting. During the meeting, Jerome
Starting teacher salaries
Current: $60,700
Proposal: $63,560
“WHEN YOU SUPPORT A RESTAURANT, THERE IS A WHOLE ECONOMIC ECOSYSTEM THAT IS SUPPORTED AS A RESULT OF THE PROGRAM.” JEROME LOVE, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF TEXAS BLACK EXPO
If passed, the district also proposed adding:
ported as a result of the program,” Love said. Fort Bend County utilized $11 million in
employees 4%
raise for midpoint
Love—founder and president of Texas Black Expo, which administered the program—pre-
officer positions 10
additional police
funding through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and American Rescue Plan Act, Sturdivant said. “All the wonderful things the program did with Jerome’s team’s management, it would not have been possible without the $11 million this court allocated,” he said.
SOURCE: KATY ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
sented the impacts of We All Eat to the court. Love said 28 restaurants participated in the program, which launched in October 2020. In sum, these restaurants were able to hire nearly 100 staff. The main objectives of the
Should a voter-approval tax rate election pass Nov. 8—which would bring in an additional roughly $23.6 million for KISD—starting teacher salaries would increase from $60,700 to $63,560, district officials said.
METRO adopts FY 2022-23 budget, its largest in agency history
BUDGET BREAKDOWN The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County adopted the largest budget in its history for fiscal year 2022-23, totaling nearly $1.8 billion. Operating budget: $855.2M Capital budget: $570.7M Transfer to the General Mobility Program: $204.3M Debt service budget: $132.7M SOURCE: METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY OF HARRIS COUNTY/ COMMUNITY IMPACT Total: $1.76B
BY RENEE FARMER
increase to $855.2 million due to fuel inflation, cost of living and materials. Additionally, the agency expects to collect $949 million in sales tax revenue in 2023, up $125 million from last year’s budget. CORRECTION: Volume 11, Issue 1 Page 19 of the September edition incorrectly stated the amount the Houston-Galveston Area Council awarded Waller County. The county was allocated $8.7 million.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County adopted the largest budget in its history for fiscal year 2022-23, totaling nearly $1.8 billion. The budget, approved by METRO during its Sept. 22 board meeting, addresses rising operation costs and includes a slew of capital improvements with a 38% hike from last year’s $1.3 billion budget. The operating budget also saw a nearly 20%
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KATY EDITION • OCTOBER 2022
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