In the past three board meetings, Klein ISD’s board of trustees has approved requests for class size waivers from the Texas Education Agency—meaning classroom sizes are too big for state standards. A district must submit a request for a class size exception for any classrooms in kindergarten through fourth grade that exceed the TEA’s 22-student class size limit. For example, on Feb. 20, KISD exceeded the 22:1 ratio at three classrooms in three different schools—Ehrhardt, Hassler and Krahn elementaries, according to KISD official documents. Members of the board, including Vice President Ronnie Anderson, expressed their frustration with the class sizes at the March 4 board meeting, noting budget restrictions have left the district with its hands tied. “It’s not the Klein way—increasing class sizes,” Anderson said. “But I know we’re … [accommodating] where the state government has put us.” Superintendent Bret Champion added recent budget cuts have further limited what KISD can do to address the problem. Last summer, KISD had to make over $30 million in cuts to its 2018-19 budget after its failed tax ratification election June 16. If the election had been successful, it would have raised the maintenance and operations portion of the district’s tax rate from $1.04 to $1.13 per $100 valuation—bringing KISD’s overall tax rate to $1.52. The district has also racked up significant debt, largely from building new schools, Champion said. Recently completed schools include Klein Cain High School and Hofisus Intermediate—which were partially funded through the district’s 2015 bond—while Elementary School No. 33 on Spring Stuebner Road is still under construction. “The idea that we have some debt is not surprising. We built a lot of schools and managed the debt incredibly well,” Champion said. KISD received the Meritorious Budget Award from the Association of School Business Officials International at the March 4 meeting for the preparation and issuance of its 2018-19 budget. This marks the 14th consecutive year the district has received the award, according to KISD. Still, class sizes remain an ongoing issue, and KISD officials have been lobbying at the 86th Texas Legislature for more funding for public schools. “If something doesn’t give either in the legislative level or [if we] find additional resources, [increased class sizes] is where we are,” Champion said. Recent action in the state Legislature indicates more funding for schools might be coming down the pipeline. On March 5, a school finance reform bill that will funnel $9 billion toward statewide school finance and property tax reform—House Bill 3—was filed by Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, who is chairman of the Public Education Committee. HB 3 would add $9 billion in funding above enrollment growth and current law entitlement over the next two years and lower school districts’ property tax rates by $0.04, among other policy items, according to a news release from the office of House Speaker Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton. For more information about the bill, read our previous story.