Conroe ISD announces $487 million bond proposal

If the bond is approved by voters, the district will build another high school east of I-45 in south Montgomery County to accommodate that area’s growing population and alleviate overcrowding at ORHS.

Additionally the district will build two elementary schools and an intermediate school in the ORHS feeder zones as more large-scale residential neighborhoods are developed along the Rayford Road corridor.

A new junior high school is also planned for the Conroe High School feeder zone while the district will complete build-out at Stewart Elementary School. Stockton said Stewart Elementary was initially built to accommodate 800 students.

Stockton said results of a recent demographic study found CISD’s student enrollment is expected to increase by as many as 1,700 students per year over the next five years.

The new high school, which will be the fifth in CISD, is targeted to open in 2018, Stockton said. The two elementary schools could open in 2017 while the intermediate school could open in 2018.

“If the bond is approved by voters, the schools will all [open] within two to four years,” Stockton said.

The ability to propose a $480-plus million bond without a tax increase is a result of the increased values of properties within CISD’s boundaries, he said.

CISD’s assessed property value is projected to increase by 10 percent in 2016 over its 2015 assessed valuation, according to the district.

Over the next three years, that value is expected to continue to increase by about 5 or 6 percent annually, Stockton said.