Upon its completion, Tomball ISD’s ambitious project will include two new schools, a new stadium and extensive renovations. Photo Credit: PBK

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Texas School District Breaks Ground on Schools and Stadium

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By Zach Chouteau

HOUSTON—Tomball Independent School District (ISD) and Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN), the district’s program manager, celebrated the groundbreaking of its new junior high school, elementary school and football stadium on May 29.

Tomball ISD—one of the fastest-growing districts in Texas—currently enrolls about 15,000 students and estimates it will have an additional 4,500 students by 2021. To accommodate this rapid growth voters approved a $275 million bond referendum, known as Bond 2017, , in November 2017.

The bond package included funds for several projects, including a new elementary school, a new junior high school, an expansion project at Tomball Memorial High School to add classrooms, a new football stadium, improvements to the baseball and softball fields, a new swim training facility, and an agricultural science facility. Other improvements include instructional technology such as laptops, Chromebooks, and document cameras as well as upgrades in the district technology infrastructure. The bond package will also allow Tomball ISD to upgrade its fleet of school buses.

“The groundbreaking of the three new facilities takes Tomball ISD one step closer to meeting its needs for the next 50 to 75 years,” said JP Grom, AIA, LAN’s vice president. “The new facilities will provide Tomball’s students the environment and infrastructure needed to succeed in the 21st century.”

The 232,000-square-foot junior high school will relieve Willow Wood Junior High School, which currently uses portable buildings as classrooms. The $43.2 million junior high school, which is scheduled for completion in fall 2021, will accommodate 900 students. The 117,000 square-foot elementary school will relieve Wildwood Elementary School, which currently uses portable buildings to teach students. The $21.1 million elementary school, which will accommodate 675 students, will be completed in fall 2020. The district’s $42.2 million new football stadium, which is scheduled to be completed in fall 2020, will seat 10,000 spectators and 3,000 parking spaces. A new community facility that will be home to a conference center, sports locker/dressing rooms, athletic training and administration areas for sporting events is also included as a part of the stadium project. The current stadium has 7,500 seats and 2,000 parking spaces.

LAN is a full-service consulting firm offering planning, engineering and program management services for the nation’s heavy civil infrastructure needs.