KISD board of trustees discussed awarding a $69 million construction contract for Junior High No. 19 to PBK Architects at the Jan. 13 work study meeting.
Why it matters
This expansion will ensure the building will be able to accommodate the fast growth of the northwest district quadrant, Chief Operations Officer Ted Vierling said.
“There is some slow growth [...] in some of our existing homes and some of our older communities, but the northwest part of the district is still growing like crazy,” Vierling said. “[Building larger] allows us a little more time before we need to go back to the taxpayers for bonds and things like that, and hopefully it gets kids in the building and keeps them out of portables.”
The background
In early January, KISD closed on 35 acres for Junior High No. 19, and 16 acres for an elementary school campus in Grange, a new community by Johnson Development. Both campuses are situated across the street from each other along Schilpf Road south of Franz Road.
Junior High No. 19 is part of the district's November 2023 bond Proposition A, which funded new facilities and schools. The 2023 bond approved the use of $806.56 million to alleviate the capacity challenges on existing campuses on the northwest quadrant, such as Stockdick Junior High School that utilized portable buildings, Community Impact reported.
This junior high will be “more than a modified repeat of the last two junior highs,” said Lisa Kassman, executive director of facilities, planning and construction. The campus will have 10 additional classrooms and accommodate 1,600 students.
The prior two junior highs that opened, Haskett Junior High in fall 2021 and Nelson Junior High in fall 2024, were part of six new campuses constructed under the $676.23 million May 2021 bond program. Kassman said these campuses accommodated 1,400 students.
Meanwhile, the elementary school in Grange will also be built larger, with a student capacity of 1,236 compared to other existing campuses that have a capacity of 1,030, Kassman said. Although, the construction timeline will be determined by a future bond date.
Next steps
The board will consider approving the construction contract for the junior high at the upcoming Jan. 29 meeting. Construction will begin in June 2026 and be completed by June 2028, according to board documents.
