From the cover
Families oppose TISD intermediate school location
Put in perspective
The overview
Ross presented the ndings of an architect’s feasibility study to the board in October. The study by the architectural rm, Huckabee, examined whether the planned intermediate school could be built at Creekside Park Junior High instead of at the Tomball Innovation Center after the district received backlash from Creekside-area parents in April. Ross said the architect’s feasibility study found if an intermediate school was added at CPJH, it would cause issues including crowding at the junior high and lost athletic eld space. In addition, trac issues on Creekside Green Drive would require adding a turn lane and trac light. Additional underground stormwater detention might also be needed at the junior high site if the intermediate school is located there, and the current utilities might not be sucient to serve both schools, Ross said. Harris County permits would also be dicult and expensive to obtain at the junior high location. The feasibility study also identied issues at the junior high site such as: • Disruption occurring over the 18-24 month construction period • Limited outdoor activity spaces • Shared athletic competition eld • Amenities for each campus would not meet TISD standards • Needing an estimated $1.5 million trac study • Permitting costs • Needing two-story classroom spaces at new building
support of the strikes garnered 470 signatures in November. The families opposed to the project have said the distance to the innovation center concerns them. While the junior high campus is about a mile from the heart of Creekside Park, the innovation center is around 6 miles away depending on the route taken, which parents claim could mean a commute of more than 30 minutes each way. “I don’t think it’s what’s right for my kids to spend that long in the car or on a bus,” Creekside Park parent Julie Peschang said. Emily Zaleski, a parent and former teacher in the district, said she will have children in three dierent schools in the district under this plan. “I don’t know how it’s realistic to get my kids … from campus to campus to campus and do all … the before- [and after-] school activities,” she said.
Tomball ISD’s $54 million Intermediate School No. 5 was originally proposed as an elementary school under the district’s 2021 bond, but the project was changed into an intermediate school for fth and sixth grade in April to accommodate growth. • The recommended location for the school is at the Tomball Innovation Center, located at FM 2920 and Hufsmith-Kohrville Road. • A feasibility study presented Oct. 10 found that constructing the intermediate school at Creekside Park Junior High would not be a viable option. • Sixth graders in the current Creekside Park- area elementary schools would move to the new intermediate school. The Nov. 13 and 14 protests were held in tandem with an attendance strike in which TISD parents pledged to keep their children home on those days. An online petition in
Distance to proposed intermediate school sites Distances to the proposed school locations are approximate from a central point in Creekside Park at Kuykendahl Road and Creekside Forest Drive.
Creekside Park
Creekside Park Junior High School
Tomball Innovation Center
1
2
3
The Woodlands
CREEKSIDE FOREST DR.
CREEKSIDE PARK
1
1 mile
R E E K S I D E G R E E N
Creekside Park Junior High School
2
Proposed 5th and 6th grade location
HUFSMITH RD.
Existing buildings District-owned land
6 miles
DAFFODIL MEADOW PL.
2920
C R E E K S I D E G
2920
3
S. PERSIMMON ST.
N
N
38
COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
Powered by FlippingBook