New opinion poll will survey residents about proposed Katy ISD bond

Hundreds of residents of the Katy ISD community will soon be asked for their input on a bond that could fund dozens of projects for the school district in the coming years.

A community bond advisory committee organized to address the rapid student growth occurring in the district met Jan. 20 for the second of three meetings to review the district’s campus and facility capital needs in consideration of a May bond referendum.

Should the committee decide to recommend one, the bond would provide funding for five new campuses and renovations to several of the district’s current facilities as well as a variety of other projects related to technology, student safety and more.

After hearing presentations from a variety of KISD staff members, the group decided Jan. 20 to poll residents of the KISD community about projects being proposed in the bond. The decision was made after KISD Chief Communications Officer Andrea Grooms explained that previous bond committees have used polls to gauge the public’s perception of a bond or bond projects during the development phase of the bond, which is currently underway.

“Data that comes out of that opinion poll helps inform your decision-making. It helps you better understand how the public—your neighbors, your friends—are communicating,” Grooms said.

The poll will be conducted by an outside firm, Grooms said. A group of people from the firm will make calls to members of the community to ask a scripted series of questions based on the projects being considered. The callers will then compile the responses, and the data will be presented to the bond committee at the group’s next meeting.

In the past, about 300-400 individuals in KISD have been polled, Grooms said.

Greg McIntyre, who has been facilitating the bond committee meetings, said the opinion poll will take three to four days and will begin Jan. 21. The group will be presented with the results at their Jan. 27 meeting.

“We’ll get to work on the opinion poll, so you'll have more information at your fingertips when we come back next week,” McIntyre said.

A finalized bond package will likely be recommended to the board of trustees during a special meeting Feb. 8.