Katy-area residents can attend a Katy ISD board of trustees and Katy City Council meeting tonight. The school district will be considering hiring 36 new special education staff while the city will be considering heavy equipment purchases and an update to the city’s building codes. Residents should also be aware of road improvement projects in the area.

1. The Katy ISD board of trustees will discuss the possible hiring of 39 staff to supplement its special education programs.

The new positions are intended to address growth in the district and ensure students with special needs have the resources they need to learn, district officials said last week at an Oct. 15 work study meeting for the board. The positions, if approved, will be spread out among district campuses. The meeting will take place in the boardroom of the district’s Education Support Complex located at 6301 S. Stadium Lane, Katy.

2. Katy City Council will decide whether to procure new equipment for the city and may approve an update to building standards.

The new equipment includes a sweeper, loader, mini excavator, ambulance and related equipment for those items. The equipment purchases are expected to cost more than $800,000.  The city’s building ordinances may also be updated to adopt the standards set forth in the 2015 editions of these codes: - International Building Code - International Energy Conservation Code - International Existing Building Code - International Fire Code - International Fuel and Gas Code - International Mechanical Code - International Plumbing Code - International Residential Code - International Swimming Pool & Spa Code - National Fire Protection Association 101 Life Safety Code Adoption of the National Electric Code’s 2017 edition will also be considered. A letter from city staff requesting the adoption of these items indicates that adopting these codes will help the Insurance Service Office set rates for fire insurance for residential and commercial properties. The meeting takes place at 6:30 p.m. at Katy City Hall, located at 901 Ave. C, Katy.

3. Katy ISD received a report last week on how its graduating high school classes of 2018 performed on the ACT test.

ACT released its latest report on the scores for students who took the test during the 2017-18 school year. Allison Matney, Katy ISD director of research, assessment and accountability, said that students across the district who took the test performed well.  Find the full story here.

4. Fort Bend and Harris counties are working on multiple transportation projects in the Katy area.

Greenbusch and Katy Flewellen roads are both being widened by Fort Bend County. Harris County is widening Porter Road as well. Fort Bend County is also in the planning stages for access road sections along the southbound side of the Grand Parkway just north of FM 1093. Find the details here.

5. Early voting begins this week for a variety of races.

Harris County voters should visit www.harrisvotes.org to find their polling location. Fort Bend County voters may vote at any polling location countywide. Waller County voters should visit the county's elections website to find their polling location.