We are a group of concerned parents who are worried about the situation in the Southwest quadrant schools (I-10 South and 99 West) of Cinco Ranch and neighboring areas. These schools include all levels of education from elementary to high school. We have heard from families in our community that, over the years, there has been a rise in the number of fraudulent new registrations and re-enrollments due to:

• Failing to change the address after moving out of the area while updating information in the annual update.
• Abusing the Affidavit of Bona Fide Residence to use a false address for registration purposes.
• Numerous fraudulent new registrations or re-enrollments under a single address by misusing the Affidavit of Bona Fide Residence or a utility bill.
• Continuing to use the Affidavit of Bona Fide Residence for years as a means to stay enrolled in this quadrant, despite moving out of this area.
• Another recent tactic is offering to pay for a utility (e.g., water) to a resident in exchange for using their address for registration purposes.

These strategies are used to enroll in a school that is outside of their designated zone and, in many cases, TO CHOOSE A SPECIFIC CAMPUS. This has been happening more frequently after Covid, resulting in the overcrowding of classrooms, facilities, programs (such as SPED, Speech, Sports Team, etc.), and services (such as Counseling, Therapies, Buses, Food Service, etc.) that drain the budget and our taxes. This excessive enrollment in our schools is affecting their capacity and quality.

The trigger continues to be the increase in post-covid real estate prices for sales and rentals and consequently in property taxes. It seems that the popular trend is to stay enrolled in this quadrant of Katy ISD without actually paying the costs of living here. Many people have taken and are still taking advantage of the high prices by:

• They sell or lease their property and move to less expensive areas either within or outside of the Katy School District (such as Cross Creek/Firethorn-Lamar CISD, across FM 1093, Old Katy, Apartments around Costco, or even farther away in Mason Rd.) while keeping the enrollment in our quadrant.
• Some families share one apartment unit without notifying the Leasing Office, which violates the lease agreement and, more importantly, the maximum occupancy for which that unit was built. Everyone’s names (adults and children) who live in an apartment unit must be on the lease agreement by contract.

On the other hand, uninformed authorities, insufficient auditing, weak regulation for the Affidavit of Bona Fide Residence, and lack of enforcement of consequences have fueled this situation. That is why we are asking you to STOP THIS FRAUD by VOTING on this petition to demand that THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES takes better care of our taxes by being more proactive in detecting fraudulent registrations/enrollments, establishing consequences, and preventing this from happening in the future. So, we are asking for:

1. We request a prompt audit of the enrollment addresses of every elementary, junior high, and high school in our area to detect multiple registrations under the same apartment or house address. We also ask for more documentation from the registrants, such as but not limited to, IDs, Property Documents or Lease Agreements with everyone’s name on the contract, Proof of relationship between the signees, Bank Statements, Tax Declarations, etc. We demand consequences for detecting fraud.
2. We urge the district to detect and investigate recurrent users of the Affidavit of Bona Fide Residence. In those cases, the district should request more documentation from the registrants, such as but not limited to, IDs, Property Documents, or Lease Agreements with everyone’s name on the contract, Proof of relationship, Bank Statements, and Tax Declaration. We also demand consequences for detecting fraud.
3. We propose more regulation for the first-time users of the Affidavit of Bona Fide Residence to limit it to 1 lifetime and up to 1 school year as you are unlikely to live with your relatives or friends for such a long time. The district should only approve an extended use if the applicants qualify under specific circumstances. The Affidavit of Bona Fide Residence should be an EXCEPTION, not a rule!
4. Enhance the Power Enrollment System for better fraud prevention.
5. We recommend auditing the enrollment records on a yearly basis and collecting fines from the violators to prevent fraud from growing in the future.

We have gathered this information firsthand from the same families with whom we have socialized for years in activities outside our elementary, junior, and high schools such as birthday parties, playdates, after-school activities, sports and cultural activities, sports practices, etc. We have also received information from neighbors and friends across our area, who have become aware of the fraud through the same social interaction. This fraud is massive and out of control, and for those reasons, we have decided to report it anonymously.

You can VOTE anonymously by copying and pasting the information below. This way, you can support this petition without revealing your contact info:

First Name:   Anonymous

Last Name:   your subdivision (e.g., Cinco Ranch, Cross Creek).

Email:            katyisdswquadranttaxpayers@gmail.com  

We appreciate your support in preserving our schools for our community!

NOTE: We are a group of taxpayers and residents from the South-West quadrant of Katy ISD, which includes Cinco Ranch SW and NW, Firethorn, Cross Creek, Silver Ranch, Pine Mill Ranch, Cardiff Ranch, King Lakes, Grayson Lakes, and Avalon Subdivisions.