Katy ISD trying to keep up with growth

The recent groundbreaking for a new elementary school was the fifth start on a new school building this year as the Katy Independent School District struggles to keep up with explosive growth.

The 73,000-student district is growing by 3,000 students per year, many of them crammed into portable classrooms while permanent buildings are built.

The district, which has 60 schools scattered across 181 square miles, has grown steadily at that rate since 2010 and is expected to grow to 95,000 students by 2023, district spokeswoman Denisse Coffman said.

Katy, already the 10th largest school district in Texas, is building three new elementary schools, two new junior high schools and a new high school with a $748 million bond issue approved last year. The issue includes $50 million for upgrading technology, including WiFi and improved Internet access.

Some schools won’t open for another two years, forcing the district to deploy more portable classrooms to meet demand while the buildings are being constructed. At least 25 portable classrooms — which cost $93,000 each — are expected to be used, the district says.

For example, Wood Creek Elementary School has a capacity of 1,030 students, but is expected to have about 1,736 students by the 2018-19 school year. About 16 portable classrooms will be needed to handle the overflow, district figures show.

The first new elementary school being built under the most recent bond issue is expected to open in 11 months, the second in late 2016, and the third in June 2018, Coffman said. The first new junior high is expected to open in June 2016 and the second in March 2017. The high school is scheduled to open in June 2017.

A ground-breaking has yet to be scheduled for a new football stadium to be built under the bond package, and a completion date has not been set, Coffman said.

The burgeoning district also will add 11 new bus routes and 23 special needs routes annually over the next three years. The growth will require 102 new buses, including 70 for special needs children, and 96 replacement buses.

The growth also requires renovations to six existing schools, including upgrades to air-conditioning, electrical and lighting systems and to plumbing: Cimarron, Golbow, Memorial Parkway and Pattison elementary schools; and Memorial Parkway Junior High School and Mayde Creek High School.

Cimarron and Memorial Parkway elementary schools are scheduled to be completed first, in August 2016, and Memorial Parkway Junior High School and Mayde Creek High School last, in August 2018.

The bond package also includes front-office expansions and career and technical education renovations at five schools, the price for each school ranging from $2.4 million to $2.6 million. The schools are Beck, Cinco Ranch, Katy, McDonald and McMeans junior high schools.

The six new schools and renovations come on the heels of a $460 million bond issue passed in 2010 that built six elementary schools, one junior high school and two high schools, all of which opened by 2013.