Mary Ellen Cuzela - Former Katy ISD Board of Trustees

05/22/2026

I couldn't miss this graduation. I wanted to be there for Principal Julie Hinson who is retiring plus enjoy the Maverick way. It was a beautiful night that ended with a special moment when Principal Hinson gave her son his diploma. 💜

Favorite Quotes from Principal Hinson tonight:

"I don't just know you as a principal; I know you."

"Our school is more than a building; it's a community and family."

"Be the best for yourself. No one gets to define what's best for you."

Congrats, Mavericks! 🎉

05/21/2026

Happy Last Day of School, Katy ISD! I hope you really enjoy summer!!

05/19/2026

BIG CONGRATS to ALL grads but esp to the Taylor HS Grads tonight! 🎉 Many of you were my daughter's friends. Thanks for the memories! 💙🩵

05/18/2026

Hey, hey... ❤️ this. 👊🔥

Tompkins outpaced the Class 6A boys field with Blake Hamilton the star of the show for the Falcons. bit.ly/3RJYPbq

05/09/2026

There are 2 board meetings on Mon, May 11.

1. Certification of the May 2 Board Election at 3:45pm.

2. The Regular Board Mtg at 5pm.
This agenda has been posted. It will be in a slightly diff order because of the Oaths of Office to take place for your newly elected Trustees.

Right after the Oaths of Office, the new board will go into Closed Session. Election of new board officers, pledges and recognitions follow. Public Comment is after all of that.

March Financial Stmts show a $(37M) deficit and $46M Bond Savings from the 2023 and 2021 bonds along with $19M in Misc Capital Income.

Retrofitting buses with seatbelts per TX SB546 will be discussed.

It has been an honor serving the Katy ISD Community. Thank you.

05/03/2026

The school board election is now done. Unofficial results are in. Less than half of the voters who came out last year elected Taylor, Davidson and Shipley.

Total voter turnout was a measly 3%.

So, ~8,000 voters out of a possible ~240,000 actually voted for board members that will oversee (or not) a yearly $1B+ operating budget, policy for ~96,000 students and 14,000 staff members (~7,000 teachers) and a Superintendent.

I believe this is the first time that there was a 50% drop in voter turnout compared to the prior year.

25% of the votes were mail in ballots compared to a much lower % last year.

***This hidden election should be in Nov.***
It should be administered by the county, not the school district and District Counsel. Polls should be at county polls to avoid voter confusion.

Voters have spoken for 10+ years. They don't like May elections.

The ones who prefer May elections are definitely in the minority. What are the Special Interests? Do they represent the majority of Katy or not?

04/22/2026

Ten Commandments posters stay up. 🔥💯

Today, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling upholding the constitutionality of S.B. 10, the Texas Ten Commandments law, allowing Ten Commandments displays to continue being placed in

04/20/2026

I just attended excellent board training hosted by Texans for Educational Excellence (TEE) and Leadership Institute.

I heard from TEA Commissioner Mike Morath, the new TEA Inspector General for Educator Misconduct Levi Fuller, an SBOE Roundtable, Trustees from multiple TX school districts, Attorneys, Superintendents, and decorated Army and Air Force Veterans who spoke about the threat of Socialism / Communism and Leadership Under Pressure.

TASB is NOT the only option. This training was 1/5th the average cost of TASB training.

(This training was rescheduled from Jan to April because of the winter storm.)

04/13/2026

Fyi... The Superintendent's Contract (Pay, Benefits, etc) and any Amendments to his contract are public documents on Katy ISD's website. (See link in comments.)

Key Items:

- Base Salary was set at $355,520 with automatic increases annually on July 1st equal to the greater of the highest *** % raise given to District teachers *** or a % mutually agreeable to the Board and Superintendent.

- Current Base Pay with Salary increases (since 1/1/22) is now $426,088.

- Current Base Pay + Benefits is ~ $479,061.

- $12,000 annual car allowance fir district travel.

- $1,200 annual cell phone allowance.

- Vacation is 20 days; 10 unused days may be carried fwd.

- Contract states the district shall pay for Superintendent's membership dues to TX Association of School Administrators (TASA) and American Association of School Administrators (AASA). Both TASA and AASA are tax payer funded lobbyists.

- Contract Amendment states that the district will reimburse the Superintendent up to $5,500 annually for a life insurance policy premium.

- Current contract was signed 1/18/22 by former Board Pres Greg Schulte & Secetary Dawn Champagne. Term was 5 years, 1/1/22 thru 12/31/26.

- Current Contract Amendment was signed 2/20/23 by former Board Pres Greg Schulte and Secretary Ashley Vann. Term was extended by 1 year and is again a 5 year contract, 1/1/23 thru 12/31/27.