Tomball ISD board of trustees Will meet at 5:30 p.m. April 12 at 310 S. Cherry St., Tomball 281-357-3100 • www.tomballisd.net Magnolia ISD board of trustees Will meet at 6:30 p.m. April 11 at 11659 FM 1488, Magnolia 281-356-3571 • www.magnoliaisd.org Lone Star College System Will meet at 5 p.m. April 7 and 13 at 5000 Research Forest Drive, The Woodlands • 832-813-6500 www.lonestar.edu/trustees MEETINGSWE COVER HIGHLIGHTS TOMBALL ISD A demographic presentation March 7 highlighted a need for adjusting enrollment at schools in the Creekside area. District officials are considering realigning attendance boundaries to help alleviate overcrowding at Creekview Elementary School. The boundary realignment would add students to Creekside Forest and Timber Creek elementary schools, reducing the number of students at Creekview Elementary. A new elementary school is planned at FM 2920 and Hufsmith-Kohrville Road as part of the district’s 2021 bond referendum, which could help alleviate campuses as well.
Tomball ISD considers new start times for all campuses
DRAFTING SCHOOL TIMES
Trustees heard a proposal March 7 for a four-tier schedule modifying campus start times to alleviate a bus driver shortage and delays in getting students to and from school. TIER 1: Bus drop-off 6:45 a.m. ; start times vary Includes Tomball Star Academy, junior high schools (excluding Creekside Park Junior High School) and high schools TIER 2: Bus drop-off 7:30 a.m.; classes 8 a.m.-3:10 p.m. Includes Tomball, Northpointe and Oakcrest intermediate schools and Creekside Park Junior High School TIER 3: Bus drop-off 8:10 a.m.; classes 8:40 a.m.-3:50 p.m. Includes Creekside Forest, Canyon Pointe, Decker Prairie, Lakewood, Rosehill, Timber Creek and Tomball elementary schools TIER4: Bus drop-off 8:25 a.m.; classes 8:55 a.m.-4:05 p.m. Includes Creekview, Grand Oaks, Willow Creek and Wildwood elementary schools SOURCE: TOMBALL ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER principal, said the proposal also avoids busing intermedi- ate students with junior high and high schoolers. “This has been a huge thing; we’ve heard it for years. From a safety perspective, there’s a huge gap in age there, and so this fixes that issue as well,” McKinney said.
BY KAYLI THOMPSON
TOMBALL ISD Steven Gutierrez, Tomball ISD’s chief operating officer, proposed a staggered schedule by campus for school start times during a workshop presen- tation to trustees March 7. These adjusted start times are anticipated to enable students to arrive and leave school on time while accounting for the ongoing bus driver shortage, Gutierrez said. A 30-member committee sought parental feedback and worked with the transportation department to draft a four- tier bell schedule, he said. Gutierrez said the district has continually been short 25 drivers, which has contributed to lengthy bus routes, crowded buses, and late drop-offs and pickups. “When you think about cost-savings and efficiency, first and foremost, our students get a better experience [with this plan], and we can do it with 25 drivers fewer,” Gutier- rez said. Lauren Thompson, Timber Creek Elementary School principal, said buses have to finish their secondary-level routes before picking up elementary students from cam- puses, which causes a series of delays. “The hope is that this tier system will be able to alleviate that,” Thompson said during the meeting. KimMcKinney, Grand Lakes Junior High School
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TOMBALL - MAGNOLIA EDITION • MARCH 2022
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