Updated Oct. 25 at 5:06 p.m.

The Katy ISD board of trustees held its October work study meeting on Monday, Oct. 24. Throughout the roughly 90-minute session, the group unanimously approved a 17-item consent agenda from its Oct. 17 work study meeting and discussed several other initiatives. Here are the key takeaways from the meeting.

1. District of Innovation pursuit

Following last week's public hearing, the board of trustees approved further pursuing a District of Innovation designation. As part of approving the DOI pursuit, the board also approved the appointment of KISD's Innovation Plan Committee. The committee will be tasked with creating the district's Local Innovation Plan. "The committee involves a great number of people," Board President Rebecca Fox said. "A lot of those are teachers, administrators [and] people who actually work in the schools and understand how it will make us better and what the flexibility will mean to us."

2. Planning for growth

The board received the district's 2016 Demographic Update, which focused on projected district growth over the next ten years. Officials said that, as a rapidly growing district, KISD needs to begin preparing to build even more new schools. The group then held a growth planning session in which it discussed potential future bonds. Tom Gunnell, the district's chief operations officer, said KISD's next bond would be a much more "bricks and sticks" bond compared to the bond package passed in 2014, meaning the next bond would focus on new schools and not contain as many special projects. He said a future bond could call for four elementary schools, two junior high schools and one high school. Chris Smith, the district's chief financial officer, said it would be financially possible for KISD to hold a bond election in either 2017 or 2018 without altering the tax rate. "Although we're calling a bond or looking at that possibility in 2017, November, that's going to serve the district for the next three years from that point forward," Hindt said. "It's a necessity when you're adding 2,500 kids a year, but at the same time we're looking at our revenue stream. We believe we can do it as a no tax rate increase, and we're looking forward to future discussion in order to determine, 'what are the needs in that bond?'"

3. Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas

Smith presented the board with the district's rating on the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas, or FIRST. According to Smith, KISD received a perfect score of 100 for fiscal year 2014-15, translating to a "superior" FIRST rating; the highest possible under Texas Education Agency's guidelines. The FIRST measure serves as the statewide financial accountability rating system and measures districts through 15 different indicators. The district has been in the "superior" category since fiscal year 2001-02 school year, he said.

4. New positions

The board approved a total of 25 new staff positions.  Twenty three personnel will be hired for growing English as a Second Language and special education programs, while the positions of deputy superintendent and general counsel will be added.

5. Recognitions 

The district handed out eight different recognitions including National Principals Month, the Katy Rodeo Committee and 57 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists for 2017.