Katy Independent School District elections (2017)
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Three of the seven seats on the Katy Independent School District board of trustees in Texas
were up for general election on May 6, 2017. In her bid for re-election to Position 3, incumbent Ashley Vann defeated challengers David Velasquez and Candace Perkins. Position 4 incumbent Courtney Doyle defeated challenger Carlos Young. The Position 5 race included incumbent Henry Dibrell and challenger William Lacy. Lacy won election to the seat.[1][2] Winners Vann, Doyle, and Lacy were endorsed by board member George Scott in April 2017, while board members Rebecca Fox and Bryan Michalsky endorsed Dibrell. In a letter to the editor in Covering Katy, Scott said he no longer respected Dibrell.[3][4] The letter was published after board members found out that Dibrell had been working to start a coalition to advocate for education issues at the state level without notifying them. Though more than a dozen other school districts joined the coalition, Katy ISD did not. Instead, the board voted to dissolve the district's legislative committee and gave all power to represent the district's legislative agenda to the superintendent.[5]
With seven candidates running for three seats, the 2017 election had the same average number of candidates per seat (2.33) as the district's 2014 election, the last time the Position 3, 4, and 5 seats were on the ballot. Vann and Doyle won their seats on the board that year by defeating former incumbents, while Dibrell won election to a second term. All three won their seats with more than 63 percent of the vote. Click here for more election trends in the district.
The winners of the 2017 race were tasked with deciding whether or not to put a bond measure on the November 2017 ballot. In January 2017, the board approved a charter for a bond committee to research the issue. On August 21, 2017, the board voted to put the issue on the November 2017 ballot after a survey was conducted in July 2017.[6] The bond passed with roughly 65 percent of the vote on November 7, 2017.[7] Also in January 2017, the board changed its media policy. Previously, only the board president was allowed to speak with representatives of the media, but the new policy allowed other members to speak with them as well.[8]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Katy Independent board of trustees consists of seven members elected by district to three-year terms. Elections are held on a staggered basis every year in May. Two seats—Positions 1 and 2—were up for election on May 7, 2016, and three seats—Positions 3, 4, and 5—were up for election on May 6, 2017.[9]
To qualify for the ballot, board candidates had to be at least 18 years old, U.S. citizens, registered voters, and residents of the board of trustees district they sought to represent. They could not be convicted of a felony. To get on the ballot, they had to file their candidacy applications with the school district by February 17, 2017.[10]
To vote in this election, citizens of the school district had to register by April 6, 2017.[11]
Position 3
Results
| Katy Independent School District, Position 3 General Election, 3-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Ashley Vann Incumbent |
57.37% | 2,280 |
| David Velasquez | 27.20% | 1,081 |
| Candace Perkins | 15.43% | 613 |
| Total Votes | 3,974 | |
| Source: Katy Independent School District, "Katy ISD Board Election Tabulation May 6, 2017 (Official)," accessed June 6, 2017 | ||
Candidates
Ashley Vann 
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Candace Perkins | David Velasquez | |||
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Position 4
Results
| Katy Independent School District, Position 4 General Election, 3-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Courtney Doyle Incumbent |
58.99% | 2,365 |
| Carlos Young | 41.01% | 1,644 |
| Total Votes | 4,009 | |
| Source: Katy Independent School District, "Katy ISD Board Election Tabulation May 6, 2017 (Official)," accessed June 6, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Courtney Doyle
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Carlos Young | ||
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Position 5
Results
| Katy Independent School District, Position 5 General Election, 3-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| William Lacy |
60.60% | 2,452 |
| Henry Dibrell Incumbent | 39.40% | 1,594 |
| Total Votes | 4,046 | |
| Source: Katy Independent School District, "Katy ISD Board Election Tabulation May 6, 2017 (Official)," accessed June 6, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Henry Dibrell | William Lacy
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Texas elections, 2017
The Katy Independent board of trustees election shared the ballot with the special city officers' election in the City of Katy.[12]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Katy Independent board of trustees election.[13][14]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| February 17, 2017 | Candidate filing deadline |
| April 6, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline |
| April 6, 2017 | Voter registration deadline |
| April 24, 2017 - May 2, 2017 | Early voting period |
| April 28, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline |
| May 6, 2017 | General election date |
| July 17, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline |
Endorsements
Katy Independent board of trustees member George Scott endorsed Position 3 incumbent Ashley Vann, Position 4 incumbent Courtney Doyle, and Position 5 challenger William Lacy in a letter to the editor in Covering Katy.[3] Click here to read the entire letter.
Position 3 challenger David Velasquez and Position 4 challenger Carlos Young responded to Scott's endorsements in their own letters to the editor in Covering Katy. Click here to read Velasquez's response, and Click here to read Young's response.
Position 5 incumbent Henry Dibrell was endorsed by state Rep. John Zerwas (R-28), Fort Bend County Commissioner Andy Meyers, and Katy Independent board of trustees members Rebecca Fox and Bryan Michalsky.[4]
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
There were three campaign finance deadlines for Texas school board candidates in 2017:[15]
- The 30th day report was due on April 6, 2017,
- The 8th day report was due on April 28, 2017, and
- The July semiannual report was due on July 17, 2017.
All school board candidates in the state were also required to file July semiannual campaign finance reports. Opposed school board candidates could choose "modified reporting" if they did not plan to exceed either $500 in contributions or $500 in expenditures in the election. Modified reporting exempts a candidate from filing the 30th and 8th day reports normally due before an election. If a candidate opted for modified reporting but exceeded the threshold before the 30th day prior to the election, he or she had to file the 30th and 8th day reports. Unopposed school board candidates were only required to file a campaign finance report on the July semiannual deadline.[16]
Reports
Candidates received a total of $9,817.22 and spent a total of $9,276.73 as of April 28, 2017, according to the Katy Independent School District.[17]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| District 3 | |||
| Ashley Vann | $0.00 | $900.11 | ($900.11) |
| Candace Perkins | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| David Velasquez | $0.00 | $80.00 | ($80.00) |
| District 4 | |||
| Courtney Doyle | $850.00 | $1,153.90 | ($303.90) |
| Carlos Young | $450.00 | $1,295.36 | $845.36 |
| District 5 | |||
| Henry Dibrell | $4,458.22 | $2,993.64 | $1,464.58 |
| William Lacy | $4,059.00 | $2,853.72 | $1,205.28 |
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2017
Election trends
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
The 2017 Katy Independent board of trustees election had the same number of candidates running per seat (2.33) as the district's 2014 election, which was when the same seats were last on the ballot. All three incumbents also ran for re-election, just as the they did in 2014. Incumbents Ashley Vann and Courtney Doyle won election to the board in 2014 after defeating the former incumbents for the seats, while incumbent Henry Dibrell won re-election to his second term on the board.
The district's 2015 and 2016 elections saw fewer candidates than the 2014 and 2017 elections. In 2015, four candidates ran for two seats for an average of two candidates per seat, and in 2016, three candidates ran for two seats. One incumbent ran unopposed that year.
| School board election trends | ||||||
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| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Katy Independent School District | ||||||
| 2017 | 2.33 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 66.67% | 33.33% | |
| 2016 | 1.50 | 50.00% | 100.00% | 50.00% | 50.00% | |
| 2015 | 2.00 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| 2014 | 2.33 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 33.33% | 66.67% | |
| Texas | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.69 | 48.62% | 77.98% | 83.53% | 34.40% | |
| 2014 | 1.86 | 37.61% | 75.22% | 81.76% | 38.05% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
| 2014 | 1.89 | 32.57% | 75.51% | 81.31% | 38.24% | |
Issues in the district
Board declines to join education coalition
In the fall of 2016, Katy ISD board of trustees Sergeant-at-Arms Henry Dibrell teamed up with Fort Bend ISD board of trustees President Kristin Tassin to start an education coalition in order to present a united front when speaking to state legislators about education issues. Though a total of 14 school districts had joined the One Voice for Texas Public Education coalition by April 11, 2017, Katy ISD never joined.[5][18][19][20]
The board was set to vote on joining the coalition in January 2017, but members George Scott and Charles Griffin expressed concerns that they had not heard of the coalition before the vote was scheduled to be taken. When it was revealed that Dibrell had been working to create the coalition for weeks without notifying the board or the district's legislative committee, some board members said Dibrell's actions had been unacceptable. They also took issue with board President Rebecca Fox's apparent approval of Dibrell's actions.[5]
The vote to join the coalition in January 2017 was postponed and then referred to the district's legislative committee. It was scheduled to be voted on at a board meeting in February 2017, but Fox removed the item from the agenda a week prior to the meeting date. Griffin, Scott, and fellow members Courtney Doyle and Ashley Vann expressed their frustration that the board could no longer discuss the coalition since it was no longer on the agenda. Fox said it had been pulled from the agenda due to a letter from the district's PTA.[5][21]
"We have a board member who broke policy, and we have a board president who knew of violations and failed to take actions to correct it," said Griffin at a board meeting on February 28, 2017. "If board members can't follow rules, or the law, how can we expect administration or students to do the same thing?"[21]
At that meeting, board members unanimously voted to dissolve the district's legislative committee and give all power to represent the district's legislative agenda to the superintendent.[5]
On its website, One Voice for Texas Public Education highlighted the state's changing demographics as a reason the school districts came together.
| “ | Forty-nine percent of children in Texas live in low-income families and by 2020, Hispanics will become the largest ethnic group in the state, making up 42 percent of Texans. By 2044, Texas will be a majority Hispanic state. Proposed state regulations, accountability and funding do not support the reality of this changing student population.[22] | ” |
| —One Voice for Texas Public Education (2017)[23] | ||
The coalition also expressed support for three issues: "Making School Finance a Legislative Priority," "Making Uniform Standards and Requirements for All State Funded School Systems a Legislative Priority," and "Making Accountability and Assessment a Legislative Priority." Those issues came from the legislative priorities of the six original school districts who founded the coalition, according to Dibrell.[19][24]
Specifically, members said they would like the state to provide funding for legislative mandates related to education. They also said they opposed programs for school vouchers and that they wanted the Texas Education Agency's A-F accountability ratings to be repealed.[24] The A-F accountability ratings grade districts based on four categories: student achievement, student progress, closing performance gaps, and postsecondary readiness. Districts are also graded on a fifth category that is chosen by the school district.[25]
In December 2016, the Katy ISD board of trustees approved a set of legislative priorities that were proposed by a committee led by Dibrell. Those priorities matched the coalition's.[21]
Scott said he did not take issue with the coalition itself, but how Dibrell handled the district's involvement with it. “Ninety-nine percent of this has occurred outside the public’s view,” said Scott. “If [Dibrell] had come to the board and said I want us to join with six other school districts and I would like this to go through our legislative committee and there was a vote and it was approved by the board then I would not be raising these issues on governance."[26]
Dibrell said he had done nothing wrong. "What law has been broken?" Dibrell said. "If a law has been broken, then that means every one of these school districts has also broken the law. I've done nothing wrong. I'm disappointed that KISD is not a part of it, but I'm thrilled that the One Voice movement is continuing to march and having success. My whole effort in this was to bring unity."[21]
In the 2017 board of trustees election, Scott endorsed Vann and Doyle in their bids for re-election, but he endorsed Dibrell's challenger. Scott said he no long respected Dibrell and that he would vote for his opponent William Lacy "to thoroughly, convincingly and importantly defeat incumbent Henry Dibrell."[3] Griffin also donated money to Lacy's campaign.[27]
Dibrell said he did not care about Scott's endorsement of Lacy or Griffin's contribution to Lacy's campaign. "People can do what they want with their finances," said Dibrell.[27] Fox and fellow board member Bryan Michalsky endorsed Dibrell.[4] Lacy defeated Dibrell in the election.[2]
Board approves charter for bond committee
The Katy Independent board of trustees in January 2017 approved a charter for a committee to look into putting a bond for the school district on the November 2017 ballot. District officials said a bond was needed due to increasing enrollment. The district's demographer Population and Survey Analysts said Katy ISD was expected to have 10,000 more students in the 2021-2022 school year compared to the 2016-2017 school year. It was also expected to grow by another 7,000 students after that by the 2026-2027 school year.[6][28] The bond passed with roughly 65 percent of the vote on November 7, 2017.[29]
The timeline for the bond research included meetings by the committee members in April and a survey sent out to district residents in July.[6] On August 21, 2017, the board of trustees unanimously voted to hold a bond election on November 7, 2017. The bond package proposed building six new schools, renovating and expanding schools, and updating tools. The bond totaled $609,204,553 and was not projected to raise taxes.[30][31] More information can be found here.
Board changes media policy
The Katy Independent board of trustees changed a board policy that allowed only the board president to speak to the media in January 2017. The change came after board members George Scott and Charles Griffin expressed their opposition to the policy in the fall of 2016.[8][32]
Scott threatened legal action in November 2016 against the former media policy that had been approved more than 10 years previously. "Katy ISD is a government, and if a government tries to restrict the ability of a trustee to speak to the media, it is simultaneously restricting the freedom of the press," said Scott. "There is nothing that should exist to squelch that right, but there has been an effort in Katy ISD to filter the public discussion."[32]
Scott said that board members had been scolded in closed meetings for speaking to the media. "It's not the board president's job to police us. It's the community's," said Griffin, who served as board president from 2015 to 2016. "Let the community decide what's good or not."[32]
Tom Gregor, a Houston attorney whose law firm worked with the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, said the board's policy was not illegal, but he also said that board members should not be discouraged from speaking to the media, according to the Houston Chronicle. Fox said that all of the board members had agreed to the policy. "It's one of many, many procedures we have agreed upon. It's not an infringement on our rights," said Fox. She did, however, say she was open to changing the policy.[32]
In January 2017, the board changed the policy to allow other board members the ability to speak to the media, though the president was still named as the board's spokesperson. "There's nothing in (the new procedure) that intimidates me like the (old procedure) did," said Scott.[8]
Fox said the new policy was more specific. "I'm happy with this one. I was happy with the other one, but this is fine, too."[8]
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About the district
- See also: Katy Independent School District, Texas
The Katy Independent School District is located in the city of Katy in eastern Texas. The city lies in Harris, Fort Bend, and Waller counties. Katy was home to an estimated 16,158 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[33] The district was the eighth-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 70,330 students.[34]
Demographics
The city of Katy outperformed Texas as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 33.6 percent of city residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 27.6 percent of state residents. The median household income in the city during the that time period was $70,526, compared to $53,207 for the entire state. The poverty rate in the city was 8.4 percent, while it was 15.9 percent statewide.[33]
| Racial Demographics, 2010[33] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Katy (%) | Texas (%) |
| White | 80.1 | 70.4 |
| Black or African American | 5.3 | 11.8 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6 | 0.7 |
| Asian | 1.5 | 3.8 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 3.0 | 2.7 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 29.0 | 37.6 |
Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Katy Independent School District Texas election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Katy Independent School District | Texas | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Katy Independent School District, "2017 Katy ISD Board of Trustees Election," accessed February 21, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Katy Independent School District, "Katy ISD Board Election Tabulation May 6, 2017," accessed May 6, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Covering Katy, "Katy ISD Trustee makes Endorsements in School Board Race," April 3, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Henry Dibrell Katy ISD Board of Trustees, "Endorsements," accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Covering Katy, "Four Katy School Board Members Scold their President and Sgt. at Arms," February 28, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The Katy Rancher, "Katy ISD headed toward 2017 bond referendum," January 23, 2017
- ↑ Houston Patch, "Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner Praises $1Billion Bond Passage," November 8, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 The Katy Rancher, "Katy ISD board changing rule that restricted free speech," January 10, 2017
- ↑ Katy Independent School District, "Meet the Board Members," accessed February 21, 2017
- ↑ Katy Independent School District, "Board Members Eligibility/Qualifications," accessed February 21, 2017
- ↑ Dallas County Elections, "Joint Election- Saturday, May 6, 2017," accessed February 20, 2017
- ↑ City of Katy, "Notice of Deadline to File Applications for Place on Ballot," accessed April 6, 2017
- ↑ Texas Ethics Commission, "2017 Filing Schedule For Reports Due In Connection With Elections Held On Uniform Election Dates," accessed March 7, 2017
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Election Advisory No. 2016-24: May 6, 2017 Election Law Calendar," accessed March 7, 2017
- ↑ Texas Ethics Commission, "2017 Filing Schedule for Reports Due in Connection with Elections Held on Uniform Election Dates," accessed March 28, 2017
- ↑ Texas Ethics Commission, "Campaign Finance Guide for Candidates and Officeholders Who File with Local Filing Authorities," accessed March 28, 2017
- ↑ Katy Independent School District, "2017 Katy ISD Board of Trustees Election," accessed May 1, 2017
- ↑ One Voice for Texas Public Education, "Coalition Members," accessed April 11, 2017
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 The Courier of Montgomery County, "Fort Bend school districts condemn A through F accountability ratings, school vouchers," February 7, 2017
- ↑ San Antonio Express News, "More Houston-area schools back public education coalition," March 31, 2017
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 The Katy Rancher, "How a pro-public school coalition became controversial in Katy ISD," March 6, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ One Voice for Texas Public Education, "About Us," accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 One Voice for Texas Public Education, "Home," accessed April 11, 2017
- ↑ Community Impact Newspaper, "Ratings review, and other things you missed from this week’s Fort Bend ISD meeting," January 10, 2017
- ↑ Covering Katy, "KISD Board Member Questions Transparency," January 30, 2017
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 San Antonio Express News, "Katy school board trustee contributes to campaign opposing fellow trustee, April 25, 2017
- ↑ Katy Independent School District, "Bonds," accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ Houston Patch, "Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner Praises $1Billion Bond Passage," November 8, 2017
- ↑ Community Impact, "Updated: $609.2M bond for Katy ISD placed on fall ballot, Election scheduled for Nov. 7," August 21, 2017
- ↑ Katy ISD, "Community Bond Advisory Committee: Bond Package Recommendation," accessed September 5, 2017
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 Houston Chronicle, "Katy ISD trustees: Freedom of speech restricted by school board," November 13, 2016
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: Katy city, Texas," accessed March 10, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data, file ccd_lea_052_1414_w_0216161a, 2014-2015," accessed November 16, 2016
| Katy Independent School District elections in 2017 | |
| Harris, Fort Bend, and Waller counties, Texas | |
| Election date: | May 6, 2017 |
| Candidates: | Position 3: • Incumbent, Ashley Vann • Candace Perkins • David Velasquez Position 4: • Incumbent, Courtney Doyle • Carlos Young Position 5: • Incumbent, Henry Dibrell • William Lacy |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
