Too often, erroneous information gets circulated throughout the community. The purpose of this page is to address such inaccuracies and provide the Katy community with accurate, factual information.
Whenever you hear something that raises a question in your mind or sounds like it may not be true, we encourage you to check back on this page to see if we have addressed the topic. If not, please send us an e-mail to Communications. and let us know what you are hearing. We will post a response so that the entire Katy community can have access to the most accurate information about their district.
Has there been a dramatic increase in the number of sexual assaults on Katy ISD campuses? This report from the Katy ISD Police Department list all of the sexual assaults that have been investigated in the past 21 months (August 1, 2006 to April 29, 2008). Of the 14 that were investigated, only two resulted in an arrest and charge of sexual assault. The disposition of the others were as follows:
- Five occurred off campus; referred to another agency
- Four were unfounded (no evidence that an assault actually occurred)
- Two were closed and classified inactive because the victim could not identify a suspect
- One was referred to CPS as the suspect was under the age of 10
Much of the information that has been circulating regarding the number of sexual assaults is based on "reported" crimes. Reported crimes are incidents that are investigated by the police department, but may not necessarily result in an arrest or charge. For example, a theft may be reported, but upon investigation it is found that the item was not stolen but misplaced. A crime was reported...but a crime did not occur.
I’ve heard that Katy ISD’s dropout rate is near 15 percent? Is this true? According to the 2006-07 AEIS report from the Texas Education Agency, the dropout rate for the class of 2006 (9th -12th grade) was 2.2 percent, compared to 8.8 percent for the state, and 9 percent for other districts in the Houston region.
Dropout rates in Katy ISD are calculated in accordance with standards and definitions adopted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the United States Department of Education. A dropout is defined as a student who was enrolled in a Texas public school in grades 7 – 12, but did not return to a Texas public school the following fall within the school-start window, was not expelled, did not graduate, receive a GED, continue high school outside the Texas public school system, or begin college, or die. In addition:
- Students who do not return during the School-Start Window (between the first day of school and the last Thursday in September) are reported and counted as dropouts.
- Students who leave high school to attend GED programs are counted as dropouts unless they receive their GED by August 31 of that same school year.
- Students who have met all graduation credit requirements but have not passed all portions of the Exit Level TAASITAKS tests are considered dropouts.
Based upon these definitions, a student could attend all four years of high school, but not pass one portion of the TAKS and be considered a dropout. Also, a student who leaves high school and receives a GED on September 1 is considered a dropout; had they received their GED on August 31, they would not count as a dropout.
Have high school budgets been cut by 10 percent? High school budgets have not been cut by 10 percent. Mr. Frailey has, however, called for a 10 percent cut of central office budgets. This is one measure being put in effect in order to be better positioned to meet the demands of rising costs and frozen revenues coming from the state.
Does Katy ISD have the highest tax rate in the state? No. Katy ISD’s 2007-08 combined tax rate (Maintenance & Operations + Debt Service) of $1.5266 is currently ranked sixth in the state. Click here to link to the data on the TEA website; 
click here to download a spreadsheet that can be sorted by district name, tax rate, etc.
Is academic achievement in Katy ISD falling? No. Students in Katy ISD consistently outperform students throughout the state on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) and outperform both state and national averages on college entrance exams. In addition, Katy ISD TAKS passing rate is the 3rd highest in the Houston region behind Friendswood and Montgomery ISDs, both districts with student populations of 5,865 and 6,094 respectively. Katy’s TAKS passing rate is ranked first among all districts in the region larger than 10,000 students.
Additional facts about academic achievement in Katy ISD:
- At every grade level in every area tested on the 2007 TAKS test, student performance surpassed statewide levels – in some areas as much as 27 percentage points.
- On the 2007 test, performance for all students was above 90 percent in writing (97%), social studies (95%), and reading/language arts (95%).
- On the 2007 test (all students tested), Katy ISD reached the Exemplary level in three of the five areas, and Recognized in the other two.
Has the district already developed plans for a new stadium? Why is a second stadium even needed? No plans have yet been developed for a second stadium at this time. The district envisions a second stadium will be built following a "form follows function" philosophy so that construction cost can be kept to a minimum.
As the Katy ISD continues its growth, it is imperative that appropriate facility considerations also mirror that growth. Currently, six high schools play football and soccer at Jack L. Rhodes Stadium. Rhodes Stadium is also home to numerous band and outside school use. With the proposed addition of two new high schools in Katy ISD, scheduling these competitions at one stadium will not be possible. The second stadium would host the same type competitions that Rhodes Stadium currently does and all high schools would use both Rhodes Stadium and the second stadium.
The district has formed a stadium committee whose members include parents, athletic booster club representatives, community organizations, and community members. The purpose of this committee is to study the need for a new stadium, as well as various designs that will meet the needs of the district in a very cost efficient manner.
Are the number of crimes occurring at Katy ISD schools on the increase? No. In fact, over the past three years as student enrollment has increased, the number of crimes reported has decreased (click here to see graph).
Why is the district outfitting classrooms with flat screen televisions rather than cathode ray tube televisions? The new flat panel displays that have been installed in several of our campuses were done so as the first step in a retrofit process that will be ongoing. The old CRT TVs that were removed from these campuses were not discarded, but will be used as replacement/repair inventory over the next six years as all of our campuses are gradually outfitted with new technology.
The reason we are switching to flat panel displays is that our suppliers have informed us that over the next two years, manufacturers will be phasing out production of CRTs, thus making the availability, maintenance and support of this technology more difficult. That is one of the reasons the new schools have flat panels as it did not make sense to outfit them with technology that is quickly being phase out. From a cost perspective, in 2008 the there will be no difference in the price point between CRT and flat panel, and by 2009, flat panel will be the most economical choice from the standpoint of both initial purchase price and long-term maintenance and support.
Has there been a change in Katy ISD’s policy of allowing youth sports leagues using the district’s athletic fields? No. There has been no change in Katy ISD’s policy regarding use of these fields and it is not the desire of Katy ISD to have these fields off limits to our community’s youth sports leagues. Rather, the recent action taken by the district stems from an investigation by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR).
On November 21, 2007, Katy ISD received a notice from the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) that a complainant alleged that Katy ISD discriminated against persons with disabilities. This matter was triggered by a patron who attended a Houston Youth Football League game on Saturday, September 29, 2007 alleging discrimination because the football practice fields at Cinco Ranch High School were not accessible to or usable by persons with disabilities.
Because of this complaint, the OCR conducted an investigation and verbally notified the district that we are out of compliance regarding access to the practice fields along the Grand Parkway and east of the high school. As of March 28, the District has yet to receive written notice of the areas in which we are out of compliance, nor what steps we must take to bring this area into compliance.
Due to the nature of the complaint and through what we have learned during this experience regarding access compliance, we must now address any identified discrepancies before youth leagues may resume use of our facilities in order that we limit our liability in the event of an unfortunate experience.
The district is fully aware of the concerns of parents of students who participate in youth sports leagues as this situation has created major issues for residents of our community. Katy ISD has worked successfully for many years with our local youth sports leagues and it is our desire to take the necessary steps to regain ADA compliance and resume our partnerships with area youth sports leagues.
Is the REACH reading program based on “Whole Language” concepts? Also, how is the program funded? The REACH (Reading Empowers All Children) program is compensatory education program designed specifically to provide early intervention for struggling readers, with the goal of having children reading on grade level by third grade.
The program does not embrace the whole language approach. Rather, REACH is a balanced literacy approach encompassing fluency as well as skills deficits. It is a diagnostic program and works in concert with the classroom teacher to focus on providing the student the tools he/she needs to become a successful reader. The REACH teachers also have the responsibility for our dyslexia program, which is based on targeted skills instruction - certainly not a whole language approach.
The REACH program is funded with state Compensatory Education funds, which cover the salaries of those teachers working with these children at every elementary campus. As such, if the program was eliminated then the district would no longer receive funds from the state. In other words, eliminating the program would not free up funds to use for other programs or reduce budget expenditures.
Is it true that Seven Lakes High School is the biggest and most expensive high school in Texas? Neither is true. At the time SLHS was built, it was reported to be the largest high school construction project in Texas. There are high schools in most of the state’s urban areas that are as large or larger than Katy (Arlington, Plano, Hurst-Euless-Bedford in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, for example) in terms of square feet, but the total space is the result of additions over the period of several years rather than being built all at one time as was Seven Lakes.
Many school districts plan high school construction in phases to allow the opening of space as it is needed, as Katy ISD designed Morton Ranch High School to have its 9th grade center added after initial construction. After adding the 9th grade center at MRHS and the new natatorium at Mayde Creek High School, all six Katy high school campuses will be approximately the same size and will have similar facilities.
Seven Lakes is the only one of Katy‘s high schools that was constructed as a single project, which created a considerable savings in the short- and long-term. Construction of the 9th grade center was expedited into the plans just before bidding. The current reported total project cost of SLHS is $77 million, which includes construction and furniture, equipment supplies, fees and architect/engineering costs. This expenditure is considerably below the board-authorized estimated total project cost of $80 million approved in the summer of 2003.