Tomball ISD officials and trustees celebrated the opening of its fourth junior high school, Grand Lakes Junior High, with a ribbon cutting ceremony Aug. 6.

Grand Lakes Junior High is part of the Elmer & Dorothy Beckendorf Educational Complex where Grand Oaks Elementary, which opened in September 2020, and the district's new 10,000-seat stadium are also located. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held Aug. 9 for the district stadium during convocation.

The facilities, located at Cypress Rosehill Road and the Grand Parkway, are funded by the district's 2017 bond referendum that totaled $275 million. The stadium and junior high school projects broke ground in May 2019, according to an Aug. 4 release from Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc., the program manager for the district's bond.

"Being able to celebrate the opening of these new facilities is a major milestone for Tomball ISD and is in large part due to the unwavering commitment to high-quality instruction and extraordinary experiences we offer in our destination district," Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora said in the release. "None of this would be possible without the support of our community who share a passion for education and understand the importance of investing in our future growth as a district. We look forward to these facilities serving our students, staff and community for many, many years."

Trustees are anticipated to call the district's next school building bond election during an upcoming Aug. 12 meeting, per the meeting agenda. If approved, a bond would be called for the upcoming Nov. 2 ballot. District officials previously said the bond could total between $550 million and $560 million, including funds for an additional high school, intermediate school and two intermediate schools, among other items, Community Impact Newspaper previously reported.


Grand Lakes Junior High School, which opens ahead of the 2021-22 school year, totaled $43.26 million and will relieve enrollment at Willow Wood Junior High School, according to the news release. The junior high school has capacity for 1,645 students in grades 7-8, including 60 classrooms, two gyms, a weight training room, two fine arts labs, a dance studio, and a fine arts studio for music and acting. The campus also include a 610-seat stadium for football, soccer and track-and-field events with two practice fields outdoors as well, according to the release.

The stadium, set to open Aug. 9, totaled $37.29 to construct. The 10,000-seat stadium will serve football, soccer, arts and band programs districtwide and also features 3,000 parking spaces, according to the release. The stadium also includes a 600-person community center, which LAN claims is the biggest in the Tomball area, featuring a conference center, sports locker rooms, and kitchen and administration areas for sporting events. Features also include a press box and monitors providing live game feeds.

"These two facilities will serve students, teachers and staff for the next 50-75 years and provide them the environment and infrastructure needed to succeed in the 21st century," LAN Vice President JP Grom said in the release.

The district's former stadium, located near Tomball High School, includes 7,500 seats and 2,000 parking spaces, according to the release.