After contentious debate spanning two board meetings, the Katy ISD board of trustees voted 3-2 to call the next school board election for May 2, 2026.

Board member Mary Ellen Cuzela, who is up for reelection along with trustees Amy Thieme and Morgan Calhoun, maintained that the election should be moved to November in order to increase voter turnout, which has remained in single-digit percentages for many years, she said. Cuzela also said that May elections tend to favor candidates who support the status quo. During public comments, six public speakers also supported the move to November while one speaker supported keeping the election in May.

District officials, including general counsel Justin Graham, said it would cost more to conduct the elections in November and that it was also more difficult to get election workers for a fall election.

Board president Lance Redmon, board secretary Dawn Champagne and trustee James Cross voted to keep the elections in May, while trustees Cuzela and Thieme voted against the May date. Trustees Rebecca Fox and Calhoun were not present for the vote.

The board also heard from five impassioned public speakers about low compensation rates for the district’s paraprofessionals. One current employee said that he is making less than $26,000.00 per year while the average pay for school paraprofessionals is more than $31,000.00 per year in Texas and almost $35,000.00 per year in the U.S. One employee said that she could no longer afford health insurance.

A spokesperson for Katy ISD confirmed to the Katy Times that the district employes almost 3,000 paraprofessionals. “Katy ISD recognizes the invaluable contributions of our nearly 3,000 paraprofessional and auxiliary staff,” a spokesperson for the district said in a subsequent statement to the Katy Times. “For the 2025 – 2026 school year, these hard-working professionals received a 3 percent raise, funded by a combination of HB2 legislated funding (1.3 percent) and local Katy ISD funds (1.7 percent). Though HB2 included meaningful support for teacher pay, state funding for auxiliary and paraprofessional support lags behind. The district will continue advocating for higher pay and increased state support on behalf of these dedicated employees.”

The board also approved the formation of a naming advisory committee for the North Transportation Center. The new facility is a part of the voter-approved 2021 Katy ISD Bond.

The North Transportation Center joins three existing transportation centers to provide safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from school for the district’s more than 95,000 students. The new center covers the growing northwest region of the district, servicing schools including Boudny Elementary, Cross Elementary, Youngblood Elementary, Nelson Junior High and Freeman High School.

Community members interested in submitting a nomination for naming the facility should review the Katy ISD Board Policy CW (LOCAL) for guidance.

Nominations will be accepted online, and requested nomination materials include:

• A nomination form

• Biographical or historical data

• A description of significant contributions and

• A statement about why a campus or facility should be given a particular name.


The deadline to submit naming nominations is 4 p.m. Monday, January 5, 2026. Visit the school and facility naming webpage at www.katyisd.org/board/board/school-and-facility-naming for more information.