Katy ISD's board of trustees held its regular meeting on April 22 in the boardroom at the Education Support Complex at 6301 S. Stadium Lane in Katy. The meeting began with fiery public comments from seven public speakers, five of whom spoke on the district’s policies for student self-defense, in the wake of a March incident involving a male student and a female student at Taylor High School which was captured on cell phone video.

Danny Gianfrancesco, who has identified himself as the father of the female student involved in the altercation, and his daughter both spoke about the incident and their frustration at not being allowed to press charges as well as their dissatisfaction with the district’s investigation and follow-up on the situation. Three other speakers also spoke about the district’s response to the incident and its current policy on self-defense, which does not prevent a student from being disciplined if they defend themselves during such an event.

The public comments were filmed by a cameraman from the local Telemundo affiliate, who later interviewed the Gianfrancescos on camera in the building lobby, while the board met in closed session another matter.

The board also convened in closed session three different times during the evening:

· To discuss and consider board approval of the superintendent 's annual evaluation and contract. After returning from closed session, the board voted 7-0 to approve the evaluation; no mention was made of the contract.

· To discuss and consider board approval for employees recommended for one and two-year contracts for the 2025-2026 school year. Upon completion of the closed session, the one and two-year contracts were approved, and contracts for three employees were not renewed.

· To conduct and consider a Level Three FNG grievance related to district policy FNG, related to student and parent grievances. The nature of the grievance was not disclosed but an unconfirmed report from a source close to the board said that it was not related to the recent incident at Taylor High School.

Board members did not comment further following any of the closed sessions.

After returning from the first of three closed meetings, the board heard a report on board member required continuing education; Board President Victor Perez said after one member completed a required certification, all board members are now in compliance.

Danielle Sanchez, KISD’s Director of GT/Advanced Academics, presented an overview of the Gifted and Talented and advanced academic studies programs. Sanchez said that 8,882 students or about nine

percent of KISD’s students are in the GT program. In addition to the gifted and talented programs, the department handles dual credit programs, advanced placement programs and academic competitions such as Destination Imagination, Science Olympiad and Academic Decathlon.

During board committee reports, Board Secretary Mary Ellen Cuzela reported on a meeting which had been held on the subject of teacher planning time; Board Vice President Amy Thieme and trustee Dawn Champagne both participated along with two teachers, two assistant principals, Superintendent Ken Gregorski and several administrators. Cuzela shared a number of suggestions which had been discussed that meeting, aand Perez said that the board would circle back to the matter in the summer when preparations will be underway for the next academic year. Trustee Morgan Calhoun asked if the district was currently in compliance with state laws protecting teacher planning time, and KISD General Counsel Justin Graham said that the district was in compliance. Gregorski said that principals would work with Gwen Coffey, assistant superintendent for special education to share best practices for managing teacher planning time, using a tool such as ShareBoard to share information. Perez again reiterated that the board would reexamine the matter during the summer.

Board President Perez and board member Lance Redmond are seeking reelection in the May 3 election. Perez faces recently retired KISD educator James Cross, while Redmond has drawn two opponents -- KISD teacher Tammy Reed and write-in candidate Khris Fields, who is an executive at a nonprofit foundation.

The next meetings of the board will be:

· Work study meeting, May 5

· Regular board meeting, May 12.