At a special luncheon meeting of the Katy Area Chamber of Commerce on September 25, Katy ISD school board president Lance Redmon updated community leaders on his plans to lead the board of trustees and guide one of Texas’ fastest-growing and highest-achieving school districts into the future. The limited-seating event took place at Federal American Grill, 727 W. Grand Parkway South in Katy, and was attended by all seven current board members as well as Superintendent Ken Gregorski and KISD Chief Communications Office Andrea Grooms.

The program was presented in a question-answer format moderated by Charles Stein of AT&T, who chairs the chamber’s governmental relations committee.

Redmon, a Katy native and Katy High School graduate, is a local businessman who has also been a pastor and has worked in senior living. He has served on the Katy school board in 2019 and became president of the board following the defeat of former board president Victor Perez in the last school board election.

Stein began by asking Redmon what the one thing was that drove him as president of the board. “I am just a normal guy who is trying to understand what we are doing and to be as prepared as possible for this enormous responsibility,” Redmon said. “[As board members] We are not perfect, but we are all trying to do what is best for kids.” He said that while the corporate environment uses “the carrot and the stick” for motivation, leading the board requires understanding of motivation, purpose and alignment.

Stein asked what the “innovate to lead” platform means in practice. Redmon said that the educational environment is changing, with new laws in place that were just passed by the legislature this year, and the creation of education Savings accounts (ESAs) as well as the allowance for virtual education. The district is not only competing for students but also for staff, and not just with other school districts but other noneducation employers too, Redmon said. He described the Legacy Virtual High School being launched by the district, which was discussed at the September 22 board meeting, Raines Academy and the discipline campus which is called the Opportunity Awareness Center. Redmon said that the district needs to provide more opportunities for students, such as the CDL program and other vocational classes, as well as for teachers and staff.

Stein asked about the plans to return the district to an “A” rating from the Texas Education Agency and to ensure that there were no “accidental successes” along the way, with the innovation being “intentional and sustained.” Redmon replied that “We are still the same high-quality district – that hasn’t changed – but the goal posts got moved in the middle of the game.” STAAR scores are improving and the district will be back at the A rating, Redmon said. It is hard for a large organization to continue to put out quality and to create a high-performance culture, he said, The district is reliant on hiring great staff. “Purposeful hires allows our business to grow,” he said.

Stein asked about plans to keep the board focused on students, even when there are disagreements. Redmon described a recent board training he attended, which was focused on academic data from 25 districts over ten years. Katy ISD was highlighted as the “gold standard,” he said. The board needs to have goals and accountability and needs to move to be more objective in making decisions, he said. Redmon said that the board needed to be collaborative, and pointed to his experience in leading football teams, churches and companies and said that the board first needed to agree on purpose, followed by development of a plan with objective data requiring decisions and a governance framework.

Stein asked about the strategic plan shaped by the community, and how Redmon would ensure that the board is aligned with that plan. Redmon said that the plan provides vision and guidance for campus-level decisions. The original strategic plan has been updated twice and will be updated again in January, Redmon said.

How will the priorities of parents and the community be reflected, Stein asked. Redmon said that the community was included in feedback sessions such as the bond committees and the district’s recent “listening circles” which were used to help develop legislative priorities. Those “listening circles” may be expanded to other topics, Redmon said.

Stein asked about Redmon’s “bold goal for 2027” – to earn the statewide honor of the H-E-B Award of Excellence for outstanding local school board. “We are an award-winning district – we should have an award-winning school board,” Redmon said. The money from the award would be great but the award itself is “a sign of the work to accomplish that,” he said. “You don’t accidentally achieve that.” One of the ways to achieve that is through a strong governance framework through which objective decisions are made, Redmond said. There will also be more team-building activities for the board, he said, along with a review of goals and district objectives to ensure that the group is working together. Redmon said that he would use objective questionnaires and assessments to identify points of disagreement as well as items that the board needs to work on.

Redmon also shared lessons he had learned from the past board presidents he has worked with. He called Victor Perez “inclusive of me,” allowing him to serve on certain committees. Greg Shulte taught him strategy, focus and goal setting, he said. Ashley Vann, for whom Redmon served as board vice president, brought context and “a love of our community,” bringing so much information to the table. During the pandemic she exhibited resilience and grit, Redmon said.

Stein asked what Redmon’s one message to the community would be, and Redmon said it would be giving grace and respect to teachers, noting that many issues could be fixed at that level.

Looking ahead to 2030, what will Katy ISD look like and what legacy the current board will have created, Stein asked. “What I hope we can be, when Ken [Gregorski] gets ready to retire, is that we’ve put a foundation in place as a board to allow him to look the next person in the eye and ask, ‘Do you want to come work here? Our board will make you better.’”