Katy Edition | November 2022

ELECTION BRIEFS Unocial results

2022 VOTER GUIDE

LCISD voters approve 3 of 5 bond propositions

have reported in. All 82 voting centers in Fort Bend County are reporting in, and all 21 polling locations in Waller County are also reporting as of Nov. 9. The state develops a recommendation for a school district’s tax rate by adding together its maximum compressed tax rate, the district’s current debt rate and either district’s enrichment tax rate from the year prior or $0.05—whichever is greater—according to the Texas Association of School Boards. Since KISD’s school board adopted a tax rate that exceeds the state recommendation, they were required to put the new rate to a vote by the community. When the KISD board of trustees resolved to call the election Aug. 22 with hopes to retain the $0.047 from the M&O tax rate if approved by voters, it did so to receive $23.6 million in increased tax revenue. “We knew this would be a big ask for our community, particularly during these times of uncertainty as we continue to climb out of a global pandemic and recession,” Superintendent Ken Gregorski and board President Greg Schulte wrote in a Nov. 9 statement. When the board of trustees approved calling for a tax rate election, though the proposed tax rate would have been the same compared to scal year 2021-22, residents would have still seen an increase in property taxes due to rising property values. Results are unocial until canvassed and certied by the county clerk.

show Katy ISD voters deny tax rate election

BY ASIA ARMOUR

Unocial results from Fort Bend County election data show 3 of 5 propositions from Lamar CISD’s $1.7 billion bond package were approved by voters, including the proposition with the heftiest price tag. The majority of voters cast ballots in favor of propositions A, B and C while voting against propositions D and E. All 82 voting centers in the county are reporting in. “We are truly humbled by the support of our community,” LCISD Superintendent Roosevelt Nivens said in an emailed statement Nov. 9. “I would like to thank the many individuals who worked tirelessly on behalf of the district to share information and get people to the polls.” Proposition A collected 59.92% of votes in favor of the measure. With a cost of $1.3 billion, this proposition funds additional dollars to complete projects from LCISD’s 2020 bond package as well as paying for land sites and the construction of ve new schools, renovations to ve high schools, and districtwide safety and security upgrades. Proposition B, priced at $189 million, focuses on building a new career and technology center in the district. This measure drew 56.8% of votes in favor of the new center, which would provide students with programming in subjects such as science, technology and engineering. Proposition C maintains 52.68% of votes in favor of new student and sta laptops, iPads and printers. This proposition costs $16.77 million. Proposition D did not pass with 54.35% of voters casting ballots against the $4.98 million measure to provide new turf and LED lighting at Traylor Stadium. Similarly, Proposition E contained plans to build a new stadium for the district, but 59.01% of voters went against the proposition at the polls. This measure was priced at $194.9 million.

BY ASIA ARMOUR

Unocial results from all three counties show most ballots were cast in opposition of Katy ISD’s proposition to sustain the maintenance and operations tax rate at $0.96 per $100 assessed property value, which would have bumped teacher and sta salaries by 4%. The approval would have meant restructuring the compensation plan for teachers, instruc- tional coaches, instructional coordinators and classroom tech designers, equalizing it for all employees in that pay grade. Instead, a combined 54.35% of voters in Fort Bend, Harris and Waller counties voted to reduce the maintenance and operations tax rate to $0.91 per $100 valuation, in line with state recommen- dations for the district not to collect any additional revenue than it did in the preceding year. The overall tax rate, which combines both the maintenance and operations tax rate and the interest and sinking tax rate that funds new schools and facilities, is then compressed at $1.30 per $100 property valuation. In Harris County, all 782 polling locations HOW THEY VOTED Katy ISD has voters in three counties: Fort Bend, Harris and Waller. Voters in each of the three counties voted against the tax rate proposition. Results are unocial until canvassed.

TOTAL VOTES: 102,798

45.65%

54.35%

HARRIS COUNTY

46.51% FORT BEND COUNTY

53.49%

44.81%

55.19%

For

Against

WALLER COUNTY

SOURCES: HARRIS COUNTY, FORT BEND COUNTY, WALLER COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT

42.75%

57.25%

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KATY EDITION • NOVEMBER 2022