Katy ISD trustees approve resolution to continue to pay employees during coronavirus

The Katy ISD board of trustees approved two resolutions to help the district operate during the coronavirus and related campus closures at its special March 23 meeting.

The first resolution states the district will pay employees despite the modified and changing schedules during the temporary closures of campuses, general counsel Justin Graham said.

“The first resolution with regard to employees talks about staff returning to duty on a modified work schedule with modified hours assigned to one of two places [at home or at an off-site district location],” Graham said. “We have a warehouse that needs to operate; we have custodial staff at some level that need to operate. And so what we're doing by this resolution is basically you're giving the superintendent the authority to move forward—even though we've ceased normal business operations—but to move forward with the day to day of the district.”

Specifically, the resolution states the district will “continue to pay employees including long-term substitutes after March 20, 2020, their regular hourly or daily rate of pay, according to the duty schedule they would have otherwise worked during the continuing time of disruption to the normal operations.”

Board member Duke Keller asked Graham to confirm this resolution indicates KISD will continue to pay everyone who was employed or on the district’s payroll during the coronavirus crisis.

“Yes, sir. I believe that is the administration’s goal for as long as it’s viable,” Graham replied.

Later in the meeting, KISD Chief Financial Officer Christopher J. Smith confirmed KISD is saving some utility and instructional expenses during the partial district shutdown, though he did not have an exact number of the savings.

However, the savings will be minor because payroll and benefits make up the majority of the budget, Smith added. He ensured board members that KISD will still receive state and federal revenues to operate for the 2019-20 school year.

The second resolution the board approved allows Superintendent Ken Gregorski to spend up to $500,000 to address immediate, unanticipated district needs related to the coronavirus public emergency to ensure the continuation of district services, per the resolution and Graham.