“With the opening of West Intermediate, obviously that means a new attendance boundary,” Chief Operating Officer Steven Gutierrez said. “Luckily, for all of us, all of that hard work and heavy lift was done last year during the district zone reset process.”
The newly approved junior high and intermediate boundaries were previously endorsed by the board in January, when it approved new elementary attendance boundaries, according to prior reporting. The district’s attendance boundaries redesign was first announced last October.
What happened
Gutierrez presented the endorsed boundaries and capacity projections for the district’s intermediate and junior high campuses.
When West Elementary opens, it is projected to serve 429 students during the 2025-26 school year, according to Gutierrez’s presentation. The campus will have a 920 student capacity.
Trustees discussed concerns about West Intermediate not being close to 60% capacity when it opens, and floated—but did not move forward on—the idea of delaying the school’s opening by a year.
“Our community wanted the new school done. They wanted relief at [Tomball Intermediate School]. I think we need to give that relief at TIS without a burden of some type of rezoning again and again and again,” board President John McStravick said. “So I’m very comfortable moving forward and I’m looking for [Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora] to try and find ways to help increase the efficiency.”
Trustee Michael Pratt, who also expressed concern about West Intermediate’s opening capacity, ultimately voted for the boundaries, citing the recommendation of the district zone committee and staff.
“While I have an objection to the utilization, I need to minimize that view in light of the much larger project and the recommendation of that committee,” Pratt said. “We talk about transparency. We talk about a need for participation and engagement. That was probably one of the finest that I’ve seen in my tenure here. So that body of work outweighs my concern. And I’m reassured that if you can get [West Intermediate] close to 60% capacity the day of opening, I can get there.”
Learn more
Learn more about the district’s zoning process by visiting www.tomballisd.net/families/district-zone-reset.
View the approved junior high and intermediate boundaries below.
