On Monday, the Katy Independent School District, Texas's community bond advisory committee presented the Board of Trustees with their recommendation for a $609.2 million bond package.
The package, according to the bond committee, addresses the district's rapid growth and the "near term needs" of Katy ISD.
"Our goal was to reach consensus," Keith Carmichael, the bond committee's chairman, told the trustees.
Almost 75 percent of the bond package, more than $448 million , is earmarked for six new schools -- a new high school, two junior high schools and three elementary schools.
Katy ISD has a current enrollment of more than 76,000 students and enrollment has grown by about 2,800 per year. By 2023, nearly 90,000 students will be in Katy ISD schools and by 2026 the total is expected to reach more than 98,000, officials said Monday.
The new 2017 bond will add more than 8,900 classroom seats over the next three years, officials said.
"Our district is growing rapidly," Carmichael said. "Many of our campuses are bursting at the seams."
The Board of Trustees will make their decision about the bond package recommendation at the next Katy ISD board meeting on July 24. They have until Aug. 21, 2016 to call for a bond election.
