Highlands Middle School to cost $10M less than expected

New Caney ISD officials said the new Highlands Middle School campus is now expected to cost $10 million less than originally expected, following board approval of a bid for the project on April 21.

Two-minute impact

Drymalla Construction's bid was unanimously approved by NCISD trustees to build the 215,100-square-foot campus, which will be located at 2700 FM 1314 in Porter. Originally estimated to cost $70 million to build, Highlands Middle School is now expected to cost less than $60 million to construct, said Richard Ressler, director of facilities and planning for NCISD.

“[We're] very happy to recommend Drymalla,” Ressler said. “They've worked here in the past in our school district, and they were successful on those projects, and we see no reason why they won't be successful on our middle school.”

Construction on the middle school is expected to begin on or after April 25 and wrap up by April 2027, as previously reported by Community Impact. The project is funded by NCISD’s $695 million bond package, which was approved by voters in May 2023.

The background

NCISD’s $695 million bond package includes plans to build two middle schools, two new elementary schools as well as a replacement campus, and campus renovations, according to the district’s website.

Highlands Elementary will open for the 2025-26 school year as a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate Primary Year Program, as previously reported by Community Impact.