Update: The Katy ISD board of trustees approved the department staffing request at the May 28 meeting.  After swearing in two new trustees, the seven-member Katy ISD board of trustees proceeded with the May 20 work-study meeting. During the meeting, the trustees listened to a presentation for additional department staffing for the 2019-20 school year. The trustees previously approved administration’s request for 382.26 campus staffing units and 153 units for campus support and auxiliary personnel. Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Brian Schuss asked the board to approve 56 positions—or a 3% staff increase—across 14 departments including legal/general counsel, technology, human resources, maintenance and transportation. Last year, the board approved 34 positions, he said. “But also remember our growth projection is more aggressive this year for staffing and for budgeting purposes, and so … we’re hoping we can staff on the front end,” Schuss said.
Three of the 56 new positions are for the legal/general counsel department because Bonnie Holland, associate superintendent for Administration, Governance and Legal Affairs, is retiring at the end of the 2018-19 school year, KISD General Counsel Justin Graham said. Holland spent 37 of her 53 working years at KISD. “We’re losing someone that is irreplaceable,” Graham said. “We have decided that not one person can do the work that Bonnie Holland does. It’s going to take three. So it’s actually a cost-neutral proposition for our department.” Schuss also requested 25 growth units, which are additional teachers and staff the district may need during the school year to address faster-than-anticipated growth or other needs. The trustees will vote on the request at its next meeting, 6:30 p.m. on May 28 at the Education Support Complex, 6301 S. Stadium Lane, Katy. After unanimously voting for board President Courtney Doyle, Vice President Bill Lacy and secretary Ashley Vann to remain in their positions, the board announced Taylor High School assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and health education teacher Chris Dudley as the new athletic coordinator and head football coach for Cinco Ranch High School. Between July 2003 and February 2018, Dudley was a football varsity position coach for Cinco Ranch High School. He replaces longtime coach Don Clayton, who announced his retirement mid-April, according to a Tweet. Clayton had held the position at Cinco Ranch High School since 1999.