It was a relatively short agenda, but a long evening for Katy ISD’s board of trustees on March 31, who heard from nineteen public speakers, saw a robotics demonstration from students at the Shaw Center, and heard an update on a controversial curriculum proposed by the state.

Audrey Young, State Board of Education Member District 8, gave an update on the state’s proposed Bluebonnet curriculum. She was invited to present to the trustees by board member Morgan Calhoun. Young, a Republican, was elected to the State Board of Education in November 2020 representing parts of the Greater Houston and Southeast Texas area.

According to Texas.gov, the Bluebonnet curriculum is designed to cover 100% of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and includes instructional materials for kindergarten through eighth grade students. It covers subjects such as language arts, reading and math in a Bible-based curriculum. Districts can begin using it in the 2025-2026 school year, and those that decide to use it will be paid a $60 incentive per student.

The curriculum has come under fire from critics who say the curriculum’s lessons allude to Christianity more than any other religion, and that it may be unconstitutional, violating the doctrine of separation of church and state. Young said that other religions are represented in the materials and that, overall, less than ten per cent of the curriculum involves religion, and that the Texas Attorney General has said that the program is not unconstitutional.

The materials may be viewed online at tea.texas.gov/academics/instructional-materials/bluebonnet-learning. Young said that the teacher guides are “very deep” and tell the teachers what to teach, step by step, and would reduce the need for teacher planning time.

Board President Victor Perez said that he was interested in the math curriculum being developed by Bluebonnet and board Secretary Mary Ellen Cuzela praised the existing language arts curriculum, Trustee Rebecca Fox said that she felt comfortable with the curriculum for her own children, as long as it was consistent with her religious beliefs, but as board member she might feel differently, representing the diverse populations of Harris and Fort Bend Counties.

Bluebonnet has curriculum developed for language arts and is still in the process of developing curriculum for math and science. Fox questioned the need for the presentation, noting that KISD just spent $10 million on a new language arts curriculum, and would not need the Bluebonnet materials. Fox said that the district was two years away from looking at new curriculum for math and science. Fox, who sits on the board’s academic committee along with trustee Lance Redmon and Perez, said that she was surprised to see the Bluebonnet presentation on the agenda and that neither she nor Redmon knew about it prior to receiving the agenda.

During public comments, two speakers opposed the curriculum, and one was in favor of it.

Fox also led a discussion on the board’s use of outside legal counsel in addition to KISD general counsel Justin Graham. Trustee Dawn Champagne said that she had reviewed the invoices from the outside firm, covering the last 17 months, which totaled over $52,000.00. “This is the equivalent of a teacher’s salary,” said Fox. Perez said that the expenses were in line with what he first projected in an initial discussion with Superintendent Ken Gregorski, at about $35,000.00 per year. Perez said that, when outside counsel was initially retained, board members were in agreement that it was needed. Fox maintained that that only Perez had access to outside counsel and Champagne said that her one attempt to use outside counsel was denied by Perez. Redmon recommended updating the BED local policy governing the use of outside counsel in order to clarify usage as well as to ensure that all board members have access to the findings.

Perez also gave an update on the board’s plans to address the use of teachers’ planning periods, which was the topic of a special board meeting on March 20. Perez said that he and board vice president Amy Thieme had met with Superintendent Gregorski and Deputy Superintendent Leslie Haack to chart a course toward resolution. Perez said that he, Thieme and Cuzela would have “a meeting or two” with administrative staff, as well as teachers and principals “look for solutions to hammer something out.” Champagne asked to join the group. Perez said that it would not be a long process.

In a move aimed at giving staff some extra time off, trustees approved via consent agenda amendments to the instructional calendars for the 2024-2025, 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years. The update grants staff an additional spring holiday in April, contingent on the district not exceeding two bad weather days.

Katy ISD’s board policy mandates a minimum of 75,600 operational minutes each school year, said a spokesperson for the district in a subsequent press release. With this in mind, the existing Board-approved calendars have already built in enough minutes to account for the possibility of two bad weather days, the release said. The newly approved amendments pave the way for a bonus spring holiday, typically falling around Easter weekend, for staff — provided the district stays within the two bad weather day limit.

Nineteen speakers spoke during public comments including nine speakers who decried the cancellation of the film studies program at Miller Career Center. Impassioned students, who said that they had been told that film studies had been cancelled due to declining interest, pleaded with the board to restore the program.

Future meetings of the school board will be held:

· Work study meeting, Monday, April 14

· Regular board meeting, Tuesday, April 22