CISD juggles growth with new construction More online
has been a consistent theme for the Conroe Independent School District.
Over the last decade, the school district averaged about an extra 1,600 new students each year, growing from 40,257 students in 2005 to 56,164 in 2015. And as of the 2016 spring semester, CISD had an enrollment of 58,343 students, according to district records.
CISD is projecting an additional 1,500 students per year for several more years. And with pressure in the Oak Ridge area as new residential developments continue to crop up, the school district is dedicating the bulk of its resources to the fast-growing
Oak Ridge area.
A $487 million bond referendum, which passed on Nov. 3, will bring five new schools to CISD, four of which will be in Oak Ridge. A new high school, intermediate and two elementary schools are slated for the area. A junior high campus is expected to go up in Conroe.
“The new high school will alleviate the overcrowding at Oak Ridge High School. With the growth of the Rayford Road-Birnham WoodsGrand Parkway area, the new elementary in the new section of Imperial Oaks is necessary to keep the other campuses in the area from overcrowding,” said Melanie Bush, CISD trustee and secretary of the board.
The most urgent construction project is the second Oak Ridge High School.
Construction on the new Oak Ridge high school is moving despite the recent flooding. Trustees approved $134.4 million of bond funds for construction of the campus, which is expected to open in 2018.
“The new high school site has fared well over the past few weeks of rain. The project is currently in the process of installing the pier foundations and is expected to move into the underslab utilities and slab construction over the next two to three months,” said Easy Foster, director of planning and development at CISD, in an emailed statement.
A new elementary school is expected to open in the Imperial Falls subdivision in time for the 2017-18 school year. The $25.6 million price tag was approved by the board in March, and Brookstone Construction Managers have begun preparing the site. A $2 million land deal for a K-6 Oak Ridge campus has yet to be finalized. The deal was approved by the board in September for a 17.67-acre parcel in the Harper’s Preserve residential community of Texas 242. Construction doesn’t begin on the K-6 elementary school until March of 2018.
CISD purchased a 15.59acre site for the Oak Ridge intermediate school for about $2.4 million and selected Marshall Construction Co. as its construction manager during the May board meeting. Construction will proceed soon after to meet the targeted fall 2018 opening.