KATY, TX (Covering Katy News) - Katy Independent School District President Victor Perez's proposal for a 3-percent across-the-board salary increase for all Katy ISD employees was approved unanimously at Monday night's school board meeting.
At the previous school board meeting, Perez, a retired energy industry chief financial officer, declined to commit to a 2 percent raise. He said he needed more time to ask questions and put the numbers on a spreadsheet, and the numbers supported a more significant raise than initially anticipated.
"I wanted to drill down a little bit more, ask the questions, and get more comfortable with a few things, and we increased our comfort level to recommend 3 percent," Perez said.
School board member Amy Thieme was thrilled that Katy ISD can give raises at a time when the other large school districts are cutting staff. She says she's glad a former Chief Financial Officer leads the Katy school board.
"As a former CFO, your skill set has helped us get to a position where we could do something that most districts are not doing right now, trustee Amy Thieme said. "Spring Branch is eliminating entire departments."
Cy-Fair reportedly plans to cut nearly 700 positions to close a $138 million shortfall.
"I am excited that we are a district that is giving raises instead of eliminating," Thieme said.
President Perez also noted that in an environment where inflation continues to be extraordinarily high, and where school districts are being forced to make difficult decisions, the ability to recognize and support teachers and staff remain of the utmost importance.
“As we look at the numbers in this current year, and in looking ahead to the next fiscal year, there is good news - part of this comes from the underspending in our budget, alongside potential student gains from enrollment,” Perez said. “All of which have the potential to wipe the projected deficit and generate a positive income for next year, before raises,” he added.