Tomball (Texas) district delays construction of junior high by 1 year

The impact of Hurricane Harvey and difficulties acquiring land have set back the timeline for a new junior to 2021 instead of 2020.

The Tomball (Texas) district is delaying the opening of a new junior high school by a year.

The Houston Chronicle reports that the school was originally expected to open in August 2020, along with a new stadium and elementary school on the same site.

Now, superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora says “unforeseen obstacles” have caused the district to delay construction.

“The new junior high was planned to open in August 2020, but challenges in acquiring land, the impacts of Hurricane Harvey on building code regulations, and county permitting have set our time back with the new junior high school delayed a year,” she wrote in a letter to parents.

The new school will relieve crowding at Willow Wood Junior High School. It is one of the construction projects included in the district’s $275 million bond program, which was approved by voters in 2017.

Chief financial officer Jim Ross says one of the disttrict's biggest hurdles was negotiating construction of a road that would lead to the school site.

The maximum amount the board approved for the construction of the new junior high school is $43.2 million.

About the Author

Mike Kennedy

Senior Editor

Mike Kennedy has been writing about education for American School & University since 1999. He also has reported on schools and other topics for The Chicago Tribune, The Kansas City Star, The Kansas City Times and City News Bureau of Chicago. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.

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