“We have some issues that were identified needs,” Ross said. “We’re going to need a new elementary school. Wildwood and Lakewood [elementary schools] need some relief.”
Growing Pains - The Tomball ISD school board of trustees have identified the need for three new schools in the district.Ross said a new junior high school and an expansion to Tomball Memorial High School could also help meet the growing needs of the district.Although Ross said overcrowding at existing facilities could be alleviated with attendance boundary changes, classroom sharing, portable buildings and adjusting class sizes, one option being considered to pay for the campus needs is a bond referendum.[/caption]Ross said due to rising construction costs in the area, the three most-needed campus projects—including a new elementary school, a new junior high school and a 115,000-square-foot addition to Tomball Memorial High School—would cost approximately $153.1 million, including a 5 percent contingency cost but not the cost of land for the campuses.
If approved by voters, the bond would allow the district to complete a new elementary school campus by August 2019 and the junior high school and the TMHS expansion by August 2020.
“Every year that we wait on this, it does cost us more,” Ross said. “I’m not saying we rush into anything; I’m just saying sticker shock just keeps getting bigger because these are big numbers as far as dollar values go, and when you start saying they’re going up 7 percent a year, that rise is rapid.”
Because the district has paid off several previous bonds early, Ross said it has the bond capacity to take on $275 million in debt without raising the tax rate.
Additionally, the tax base—or total number of residents paying property taxes to the school district—within the district has grown by 175 percent since the last bond referendum in 2013, Ross said.
In addition to the three new schools, the district has identified other possible items that could be added to a bond referendum, including funding for land acquisition, additional buses, a natatorium, a stadium, a water and wastewater plant, and improvements to other existing facilities.
However, Ross said these additional items are not immediate needs for the district.
Following the presentation, the school board unanimously agreed to approve a facility study beginning in March to determine the needs of the community and the district. The deadline to call for a bond election in time for the November ballot is Aug. 21.
