New Caney ISD completes work on 2018 bond referendum

This year, New Caney ISD is poised to complete work on projects included in the district’s $200 million bond referendum, which was approved by voters in 2018.

When the item was introduced in March 2018, district officials said the bond was needed to address growth within the district. At that time, the district’s student population of 15,046 was nearly double the number of students the district housed in 2007. In the 2020-21 school year, NCISD’s student population was 16,274, according to the Texas Education Agency.

The 2018 bond included four projects to address priority needs in the school district. Among the projects already completed are a $12 million endeavor to add 360 seats to Woodridge Forest Middle School and a $52 million effort to replace and add 450 seats to Keefer Crossing Middle School.

A $26 million project to replace and add 180 seats to Porter Elementary School is set to go out for bid this fall. Officials said the school is tentatively scheduled to reopen in fall 2024.

The final project included in the bond, which was listed as the district’s top priority, is the $110 million construction of West Fork High School. The new high school is scheduled to open in August near Kingwood Medical Center.

“Opening a new high school is one of the most exciting things in public education, and we are fortunate to live in a community that is both growing and super supportive of public schools,” Superintendent Matt Calvert said in a statement.

Officials said the first phase of that project will accommodate approximately 1,350 students, noting the school’s design accounts for a future expansion of up to 2,250 students. Woodridge Forest Middle School Principal Bridgett Heine was named principal of West Fork High School in February 2021.

Scott Powers, NCISD executive director of public relations, said the timeline for a potential future bond is unclear. District officials will review an impending demographic report before deciding how to proceed.