Five Running For Two Katy School Board Seats/Veteran Trustee Kimmel Decides Not To Run Again

Houston Chronicle - March 14, 2006

By Helen Eriksen

Five candidates have filed for two seats on the Katy Independent School District board, while one incumbent is not running for re-election.

Neal Howard, Tom Law and Gregory Gibbs are vying for Position 7 held by Joe Kimmel, who said he is stepping down to give someone else the opportunity to serve.

"I've had a good ride and I've accomplished a lot during my tenure," Kimmel said. "My children are no longer in school."

Robert Shaw, who holds Position 6, is being challenged by Fred Hink, a member of a conservative education watchdog group called the Katy Citizen Watchdogs.

Both Howard and Hink ran for the board in 2004, losing respectively to newcomer Rebecca Fox and incumbent Joe Adams, while Gibbs lost in 2005 to incumbent Judith Snyder.

The candidates, who all believe the board will benefit from their individual expertise, have identified growth, school funding and academic performance as the most pressing issues the district will grapple with during the next three years.

Kimmel, whose two grown children were educated in the Katy school district, held several offices during his 12-year board tenure including — four years each as board president and vice president, two years as sergeant-at arms, and two years as a non-office holding board member.

"I really will miss all the wonderful people," Kimmel said. "I have a healthy respect for teachers and administrators and the jobs they do."

Position 6Shaw, 57, an engineer with Aker Kvaerner, has served on the board since 1997 and is shooting for his third term.

He said the top challenge the district faces is handling the rapid growth taking place and all the things that go along with it.

"We also have to continue to maintain the high academic levels that constituents have come to expect," he said.

Shaw, who has lived in Katy for 30 years, is married with three grown children who all went through the Katy school system.

Hink, 42, a part-time writer and full-time stay-at-home dad, said his top priority is to see that the board handles finances more prudently and takes greater fiscal responsibility.

"We have the highest tax rate and we are one of the highest debtor districts in the state," Hink said. "We have to tackle balancing the budget (currently projected at a deficit of $20 million) and meeting the demand for new schools within that budget."

A native Houstonian, who has lived in Katy for 13 years, Hink is married with one child enrolled at Pope John XXIII High School in Katy and another child who attends Katy's Faith West Academy.

Position 7Howard, a 47-year-old engineer at Exxon Mobil, said school funding continues to remain at the forefront of challenges in the district.

"The most important issues facing the district are handling growth and finance with the uncertainty of state funding," Howard said.

Howard, who has lived in Katy for 12 years, is married with four school-aged children in Katy schools — in grades third, sixth, eight and 10th.

Gibbs, 32, a grants specialist in the Alief Independent School District, who has lived in Katy for five years, believes he will be able to help the board sustain continuity in leadership.

"I want to continue to provide support and preserve the quality of Katy ISD leadership," Gibbs said.

Gibbs is married with three young children, one of which is enrolled in the Katy school district.

Law, 49, is a consultant in the health-care industry who has lived in Katy for 11 years.

Increasing the number of schools that perform at the exemplary level tops his list for improvements in the district.

"I would like to see school administrators take the Campus Improvement Plans before the board during the work study meetings and earnestly examine it as a tool to spur improvement at the campus level," Law said, who is being endorsed by the Katy Citizen Watchdogs. "Right now it appears to be an exercise they (administrators) are going through to meet a state mandate."

Law is married with one child in the Katy ISD and two grown children.

About the electionKaty ISD school board members serve a three-year term with no term limits.

The deadline for a candidate to withdraw from the race is by 5 p.m. March 21.

Early voting will be held May 1-9. The election will be held on May 13. Check the Katy ISD Web site for election information.