What we reported

Spring and Klein ISDs have completed several projects from their respective bond packages in 2017. Voters approved SISD’s $330 million bond package in 2016 and KISD’s $498.1 million bond package in 2015. Both districts are using a significant portion of their funding to build new schools to alleviate overcrowding and keep pace with enrollment growth.

The latest

KISD opened Klein Cain High School in August 2017 on Spring Cypress Road. The high school cost $185 million and will hold close to 3,200 students by the 2019-20 school year. SISD acquired 60 new school buses last summer and worked on technology upgrades—including providing teachers with new laptops and upgrading computer lab computers—during the fall semester.

What’s next

KISD plans to open the $60 million Hofius Intermediate School in August and will begin construction on the final school in its bond package—the $26 million Elementary School No. 33—this spring. KISD plans to open the elementary school in August 2019. SISD will begin $40 million in renovations throughout the district in the spring and open a new facility to house its police department and tax office in the summer. The district also plans to open Middle School No. 8, a new building to house Roberson Middle School and a new sports stadium in 2019. The two middle schools will cost a combined $80 million, and the new stadium will cost $38 million. In 2020, SISD plans to open three new ninth-grade centers—which cost a combined $112 million—at the Dekaney, Spring and Westfield high school campuses.

This story is one update from The January Issue. View the full list of Top 8 stories to follow in 2018 here.