With the arrival of the Grand Parkway and several proposed residential communities in the area, Tomball ISD officials are predicting the district will grow to serve more than 20,000 students in the next decade.

During the Dec. 14 school board workshop meeting, TISD Chief Administrative Officer Chris Trotter presented a report from Templeton Demographics outlining the enrollment numbers the district is projecting for the next seven to 10 years.

“We’re going to add 1,000 homes in our inventory per year for the foreseeable future,” Trotter said.

The report projects the new home developments will bring thousands of new residents to the area, and TISD enrollment will grow quickly from 13,288 students as of May 2015 as a result.

“We’re going to reach 15,000 students next fall,” Trotter said. “In 2021, we’ll have 18,000, and in 2025-26, we’ll have over 21,000 students.”

Trotter said the projected growth will cause some schools to reach capacity in the next five years—an issue that can be remedied with strategically placed new schools and future redistricting.

“We would probably look at that in 2021-22; it’s not something we have to do immediately,” he said. “These are numbers that we’re going to have make some decisions on.”

Year in Review

TOMBALL ISD

• In August, TISD opened three new schools: Creekview Elementary School, Oakcrest Intermediate School and Wildwood Elementary School. Construction on the new schools began in late spring 2014 and was completed during summer 2015.
• The 2015-16 district budget included funding for 130 new employees—65 teachers and 65 campus personnel. The budget also allocated funds for a 3 percent general pay increase for all TISD employees and a first-year teacher salary raise from $50,000 to $51,250.
• In December, the school board named Michael J. Pratt as the new board president, Ken Odom as vice president, Kathy Handler as board secretary and John E. McStravick as assistant secretary.