Tomball - Magnolia Edition | January 2023

EDUCATION

OTHER STORIES TO FOLLOW IN 2023

Tomball ISD to add ocers During its Jan. 10 meeting, the Tomball ISD board of trustees approved an interlocal agreement with the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Oce, which will provide four ocers to the district to provide law enforcement services. This comes after a new interlocal agreement with the Tomball Police Department was approved by Tomball City Council in late September, Community Impact previously reported. With the addition of these four ocers, the district will have 16 ocers between its campuses, TISD Chief of Sta Amy Schindewolf said.

BY CASSANDRA JENKINS

trustees to choose the construction manager and other subcontractors by the spring. “Assuming all of that goes well, and I have no reason to believe it won’t because we’ve worked with these architects before, then we should be breaking ground with all the permits done towards the end of the sum- mer,” she said. Riley said in an interview as of

Dec. 20, LSCMagnolia is slated to open for classes by fall 2024. She said programs will include a heating, ventilation and air conditioning training program; multiple computer and science labs; a small library; a testing center; classrooms; and an emergency medical services training program. The center will be located at FM 1774 and FM 1486 in Magnolia.

LONE STAR COLLEGE The Lone Star College-Magnolia Center is set to break ground in 2023 as a satellite center of LSCMontgomery. LSCMontgomery President Rebecca Riley said architectural rm Harrison Kornberg Architects completed the design phase in late 2022 for the long- awaited center. “What that means is that the oor plans are complete,” Riley said. “The exterior design, the trac ow, all of that design work is done. The next step is to go into cost estimates and make sure that what we’ve designed ts within the budget.” Funding for the $28.86 million center came from a $485 million bond voters approved in 2014, according to the LSCS website. After costs are nalized, Riley said the project is expected to be bid for contracts to build the center. She said she expects the LSCS board of

ESCONDIDO PRADOO CROSSING

4 ocers will be added to Tomball ISD campuses. With the addition of these four ocers, the district will have 16 o cers between its 22 campuses.

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SOURCE: TOMBALL ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT

The Lone Star College-Magnolia Center is set to break ground in 2023 as a satellite center of LSCMontgomery. (Rendering courtesy Lone Star College System)

Tomball ISD’s prekindergarten center to open in August Construction has begun on Tomball ISD’s prekindergarten center, named the Early Excellence Academy, which is set to open this August, Chief Financial Ocer Jim Ross said. The center, located on Keefer Road behind the sta development center, will house around 350 students in its rst year, Ross said. Ross said the project funding is not coming from 2021 bond dollars, but from other proceeds the district has from property sales and interest income. He said he expects the prekindergarten center to cost somewhere between $15 million-$20 million. Lone Star College launches new emergency management degree Lone Star College System is now oering two new degrees in emergency management. An Associate of Applied Science in emergency management will start in the spring following the rollout of the Bachelor of Applied Science in emergency management last fall. Classes cover topics such as disaster response and recovery as well as emergency management planning.

PTECH program on track to begin this fall

Magnolia ISD to begin work on bond projects

AUDUBON ELEMENTARY

A new elementary school approved by the 2022 bond will be open by the 2024-25 school year and built within master-planned Audubon, according to Magnolia ISD.

BY LIZZY SPANGLER

TOMBALL ISD The health care-focused Pathways in Technology Early College High School program is on track to begin this fall, said Bob Thompson, dean of student advancement for Tomball ISD. The program will be made up of 25 students with 51 students applying to be a part of it, Thompson said. Through this program—in partnership with HCA Houston Healthcare Tomball and Lone Star College-Tomball—students can obtain health care certications that include surgical technician, nurse techni- cian, pharmacy technician, phlebotomy technician and EKG technician, Thompson said. Students will also have the oppor- tunity to receive an Associate of Science degree and a Level 1 certicate. Thompson said the district sent the program’s application to the state in December and expects to hear back by the end of February. “Every year, PTECHs and early colleges have to do an application just to show [that] we’re able to meet the requirements and standards that are expected by the state,” Thompson said.

BY PEYTON MACKENZIE

MAGNOLIA ISD Following the passage of Magnolia ISD’s Prop- osition A on Nov. 8, the district anticipates beginning projects from the bond in 2023. The bond allocates money for projects such as additional schools, renovations and new buses. Assistant Superintendent of Operations Erich Morris said the rst step is to sell the bonds, which he said is expected in late January. Morris said the district is cautiously moving forward on projects before then. “It is accurate to say every- thing will be complete within three years,” Morris said in a Dec. 15 interview. Morris also said the district is moving forward on behind-the- scenes tasks, such as surveys, contractors and architects. Morris said shipping and material concerns have caused

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SOURCES: AUDUBON, MAGNOLIA ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT

the district to move forward as quickly as possible by taking steps like ordering new buses by February, anticipating there

will be a shipment delay. Ultimately, the district

intends to move forward on all bond-funded projects in 2023, Morris said. The three new schools—which were the primary drivers for the need of a bond, according to Morris— will take priority with Audubon Elementary beginning construc- tion in February to open for the 2024-25 school year.

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TOMBALL MAGNOLIA EDITION • JANUARY 2023