Survey Says Residents Pleased With KISD

The Katy Times - February 10, 2006

By Mark Loyd

A performance survey conducted by the Katy Independent School District found most taxpayers are pleased with the district's performance, but also revealed many residents are concerned about the impact growth and the overcrowding of schools.

The survey was done by a team from Rice University and the University of Houston and comes as Katy ISD trustees are considering asking voters for an estimated $300 million in bonds to fund new buildings.

"This survey was a high priority for the district this year," Jackie Birkel, Katy ISD board president said.

"We as a board feel that it is critically important for us to understand the opinions and priorities of our community as a whole," she said.

Sixty-five percent of the the 501 people surveyed said they would endorse a bond issue if they knew it would not mean an increase in their property taxes. This question was one of several that was met with ire by members of the Katy Citizen Watchdogs, a local organization that monitors the district's activities.

Fred Hink, a member of the Katy Citizen Watchdogs, said the survey results were "skewed" in the district's favor and cited several examples on the Web site radiofreekaty.com.

"They should have also asked, 'Do you know the district cannot raise your taxes anymore because it has the highest tax rate in the state, capped out at $2.00 per $100 valuation of you home or business?'" he said.

"It is obvious that without included information, the survey asked an unfair question by not providing all of the facts to a potential respondent," Hink said.

Should the bond issue be approved by voters, the district would likely reduce its Maintence and Operations tax rate, which generates revenue for teacher salaries, books, supplies and other day-to-day expenses, and increase its Debt service tax rate by an equal amount.

A summary of the survey results indicates support for a bond election fell by 12 percent when participants were told "that an increase in the district's debt could decrease funds available for day-to-day programs and operations."

When told that an increase in the district's debt could impair its instruction program support for the bond issue fell by 24 percent.

Hink cited an executive summary of the survey written by Stephanie Post of Rice University and questioned why the document did not contain the words "random" or "randomly."

"The lack of the words 'random' or 'randomly' suggest a conscripted demographic pool that may be predisposed to support a bond initiative," Hink wrote on his web site Radio Free Katy.

A press release issued by the district indicated the 501 participants were "randomly selected registered voters."

Hink noted that of the 501 people surveyed, 35 percent said they had voted in the 2005 school board election. He found the number misleading, as less than 3 percent of the district's 101,000 registered voters actually cast ballots in the election.

"The disparity between the surveyed data and the actual voting data is astounding," Hink said.

Some 90 percent of those questioned gave the district a positive rating and one-third of those surveyed said education in the district had improved in the past three years. Forty-six percent said the level of education was unchanged while 14 percent said the level of education had declined.

Hink said the Watchdogs did not question the integrity of those who performed the survey but said "the methodology, based on answers to survey questions concerning demographic details, is flawed."

The Katy ISD bond committee, which is researching the district's needs and will help determine how much bond money will be put before voters, is scheduled to meet 6:30 p.m. in the Katy ISD Administration Building, 6301 S. Stadium Lane.

If school trustees approve the bond measure, it could be put before voters May 13.