Tomball and Magnolia are among a group of 85 school districts across the state classified as "fast growth," facing challenges related to a rise in student enrollment and maintaining competitive salaries.

With growth projected for the foreseeable future, Tomball ISD and Magnolia ISD officials are planning ahead to determine needs for new schools and are seeking ways to allocate funding for future salary increases.

Both districts meet the enrollment growth criteria to become members and be classified as "fast growth" through the Austin-based nonprofit organization, the Fast Growth School Coalition. Founded in 1996, the coalition is the only one of its kind for fast-growth school districts that targets issues, such as finances and structural demands, and also lobbies state representatives to improve legislation, FGSC executive director Michelle Smith said.

"Every fast-growth district has a different story to tell," Smith said. "Several legislative initiatives got rolling during that time in the late '90s. Basically the intent was for the state to recognize there are areas that need additional assistance [in school districts] because they are taking on a lot of growth."

FGSC membership

Of the more than 1,000 school districts across Texas, 52 of the 85 eligible entities have become members of the coalition, including Magnolia ISD, and pay an annual membership fee, Smith said.

Though Tomball ISD is eligible to join the coalition due to its continued growth, officials have not considered membership at this time, TISD Chief Financial Officer Jim Ross said.

"Every year in the state of Texas we add almost 80,000 students, and 80 percent of that growth is in fast-growth school districts," Smith said. "[Fast-growth school districts] are taking a significant portion of that growth but only in a small number of districts."

Coalition officials collaborate with superintendents to develop priority legislative initiatives, Smith said.

Tomball ISD

As a fast-growth eligible school district, a few of the top financial challenges facing Tomball ISD in the near future include financing the opening of four new schools and remaining competitive with nearby school districts in terms of staff salaries, Ross said.

In the past three years, the district has experienced a surge in enrollment from 4 to 6 percent annually, growing from 11,125 students in 2011–12 to 12,499 during the 2013–14 school year. For the 2014–15 school year, the district is projecting a 5.5 percent enrollment increase to 13,189 students, with similar growth trends expected to continue in the near future, Ross said.

In May 2013, Tomball voters passed a $160 million dollar bond. The bond will help fund facility renovations at existing campuses and the construction of three new elementary schools opening in August 2015 and one junior high opening in August 2016, Ross said. The district operates 14 schools across an estimated 2.3 million square feet, and the four new campuses will boost the instructional facilities space by 24.6 percent, he said.

"New facilities are needed to meet the needs of our growing student population," Ross said. "School facilities are expensive to build and costly to operate."

The projected net cost for opening the four new schools is an estimated $5.6 million, and more funding will be needed for maintenance on the buildings in the future, Ross said. Though the 2014–15 budget is balanced, the district anticipates using funds from its multimillion dollar reserve built up over the past six years to help cover any surplus expenses.

Along with the addition of new schools, the district increased its starting teacher salary to $50,000 and granted a 3 percent staff salary raise for the 2014–15 school year to remain competitive with surrounding districts, Ross said. For the 2015–16 school year, continued pay scale adjustments are projected to cost the district an additional $800,000 for payroll.

Magnolia ISD

Similar to Tomball ISD, Magnolia ISD Superintendent Todd Stephens said the district is challenged with accommodating continued student enrollment growth and remaining competitive with nearby districts by allocating staff salary increases.

Though Tomball is experiencing more rapid enrollment increases, Magnolia ISD has seen steady growth trends totaling an estimated 1.8 percent increase in 2013–14 to 12,201 students and is projecting about a 1.7 percent increase for 2014–15, MISD CFO Erich Morris said.

Based on a number of new housing developments on the horizon, the district is projecting a surge in annual enrollment increases of anywhere from 2.6 percent in the 2017–18 school year to 4 percent by 2022–23, he said.

"We know we're becoming a destination district, and that's what we're shooting for," Morris said. "With the economic conditions and road infrastructure and things of that nature, we're poised to see some significant growth in the near future."

MISD has no definite plans to construct new schools to accommodate enrollment growth yet, Stephens said. However, the district will continue to monitor projected enrollment levels and may consider a bond election to fund new facilities in the coming years if enrollment growth continues, he said.

"I think if we have to go for bonds we have a group of people who can support that," Stephens said. "I think a tendency is we might want to start getting schools on the ground, but we want to be agile and watch it carefully and stay ahead of the curve as it comes and mitigate the effect on taxpayers."

In addition, Magnolia ISD approved its budget Aug. 18 with extra funding available to increase the starting teacher salary by $1,000 to $46,000, grant a 4 percent staff salary raise and add back a local leave day, Morris said.

"If we see that our competitors are not only giving raises but increasing that first-year teacher pay, at the very least we don't want to get further behind," Morris said. "It's really something that our board made a priority."