Tomball ISD drops plan for new school amid protests
Tomball ISD will expand Creekside Park Junior High to accommodate fifth-grade students and will drop plans to build a new standalone intermediate school at the Tomball Innovation Center in response to protests from Woodlands-area residents and elected officials.
The district expects to complete the two-story campus addition for Creekside Park, which is located in The Woodlands, by the 2026-27 school year. Fifth- and sixth-graders will share the campus with seventh- and eighthgraders but will have “two distinct experiences,” much like having a separate intermediate and junior high, the district said in a statement.
The school district originally planned to build a new elementary school. In April, the district switched gears and announced an adapted plan to build a new intermediate school, sparking outrage from some parents.
Several dozen parents cited long bus rides and waits to pick up students at the school, which would have been located 5 to 8 miles from Creekside Park elementary schools. Their frustration led The Woodlands Township’s board of directors to get involved in efforts to help keep the school within the village.
Hundreds of parents attended an April town hall and several school board and township meetings afterward to voice their concerns. On Nov. 13 and 14, parents David and Suzanne Swiderski hosted a protest and attendance strike to call attention to the amended plans.
“Obviously, we created a lot of pushback around the proposed plans and the administration has done an amazing job of listening to concerns and feedback from parents and finding a solution that is not just beneficial for Creekside Park families, but all of Tomball ISD as well,” David Swiderski said.
Creekside resident Rebecca Masciola, who did not protest the former plan for an intermediate school, said she is satisfied with the outcome.
“This seems like a great (compromise) and shows the district’s willingness to listen to parent concerns,” Masciola said. “My focus is (on) the best outcome for all families and children in TISD, and I hope this solution will provide more money for solutions in other parts of the district.”
She said she and others in Creekside await more details on how issues like class size and traffic congestion will be addressed.
Time spent on the bus
The district originally planned to build a new elementary school with funds from its $494.46 million 2021 bond. The bond was presented to voters in response to Tomball ISD’s population growth to 18,640 by Sept 2020, a 32% increase from the 20152016 school year.
In April, the district announced amended plans to build an intermediate instead of the elementary school at the Tomball Innovation Center. District officials said the change would provide longerterm and more evenly distributed enrollment capacity relief for schools, and delay the need for another bond until 2029.
Many Creekside students walk to school, and parents said the distance and lack of infrastructure would have caused significant increases in bus ride and car pickup times.
“Our Creekside village residents have been rightfully concerned about the possibility of their children spending 8 to 10 hours a week on a bus in transit to Tomball ISD schools,” township board member Brad Bailey told the Chronicle.
Bailey said the board got involved to help “open conversations” about an alternate plan for Creekside Park, which is the sole Woodlands village zoned to Tomball ISD.
Township board members attended school board meetings and met with Tomball ISD board members to help find a solution.
Township board chairman Ann Snyder said in a statement that she is happy with the “innovative solution.”
“The township is pleased to know that our residents will continue to be able to send their children to schools located in the community we love,” she said.
Alternatives studied
Tomball ISD considered several options, including adding a new standalone campus to the 22-acre lot that hosts Creekside Park Junior High. After completing a feasibility study, however, the district found the plan would cost an additional $10 million to build, raise concerns with traffic congestion and drainage and eliminate a current practice field.
Expanding the campus erases some concerns because it will be located on a site with stable soil composition and will allow the junior high to keep its practice field, district leaders said.
Some original challenges, including traffic, drainage and detention infrastructure, and permitting and utility capacity issues will remain, but the expansion’s smaller size should mitigate some of those impacts.
District officials said the expanded campus will also potentially save up to $20 million, redirecting more funds to provide relief in other areas, such as renovating current campuses. Planning and construction can begin immediately.
District leaders said they will continue to provide more details and updates throughout the next two years.