Tomball Independent School District is a K-12 education school district serving Tomball, Texas, United States as well as the surrounding area.
Tomball ISD encompasses 83 square miles in northwest Harris County and southwest Montgomery County, and is located approximately 30 miles from downtown Houston. As of 2022, the district has over 20,000 students at 22 campuses.[2]
Tomball ISD serves students in northern Harris County and southwestern Montgomery County, Texas, including the City of Tomball, Lakewood Grove, Northepointe, Village Creek, Creekside Park Village[3] (a section of The Woodlands), and the communities of Hufsmith, Decker Prairie, Pinehurst, and Rose Hill. Tomball ISD is approximately 20 miles northwest of Houston's central business district and 15 miles southwest of the Woodlands. Tomball ISD is bounded by Waller ISD to the west, Magnolia ISD to the north, Conroe ISD to the east, Klein ISD to the southeast, and Cypress-Fairbanks ISD to the southwest. As the principal crossroads of Tomball, FM 2920 (Tomball's Main Street) generally runs east-west through the center of the district, and SH 249 generally runs north-south through the center of the district. The Grand Parkway (SH 99) also runs east-west through the southern half of the district.
Tomball Independent School District is accredited by the Texas Education Agency, which rated it "A - Superior" in 2017–2018.[4]
Tomball ISD is part of the taxation base for Lone Star College (formerly North Harris Montgomery Community College District).
Public school was first taught in Tomball in 1908. Tomball Independent School District was established in 1937 after a new school house was built on Cherry Street in downtown Tomball in 1936. A dedicated high school was built on Main Street in downtown Tomball shortly after. This school was rebuilt in 1961 after a fire and is now Tomball Intermediate School. In 1974, a new high school was built on Quinn Road (then called Sandy Lane) at Zion Road on the north side of Tomball.[5]
In 1981, voters overwhelmingly approved an $18.8 million bond to build three new elementary schools and double the size of the new Tomball High School campus.[6]
Tomball Junior High School opened in 1993 across Quinn Road from Tomball High School.
In 2000, voters approved a $98 million bond to renovate Tomball High School and several other campuses and build Willow Wood Junior High, Northpointe Intermediate, and Rosehill Elementary schools and a natatorium across the street from Tomball Junior High School.[5]
In 2007, voters approved a $198 million bond, which included funding for Tomball Memorial High School (the district's second high school) and Canyon Pointe, Creekside Forest, and Timber Creek elementary schools, as well as expansions and renovations at other schools and new district-level facilities, including a new district administrative building on the site of the district's 1936 school building on Cherry Street in downtown Tomball.[7]
In May 2013, voters approved a $160 million bond to build four new schools (an intermediate and an elementary school in the Northpointe area and a junior high and an elementary school in the Creekside area), renovate all other schools, and upgrade the district stadium track and field next to Tomball HS and the field at Tomball Memorial HS. Approximately 1,900 voters approved the bond by a 2-to-1 margin. At the time, the district had 11,700 students.[8]
In November 2017, voters approved Bond 2017 - a $275 million bond program that funded two new schools (Grand Oaks Elementary and Grand Lakes Jr High), an agricultural barn, a natatorium at Tomball Memorial HS, the Tomball ISD Stadium and Community Event Center complex at Cypress-Rosehill and the Grand Parkway, an expansion to Tomball Memorial High School, and renovations to Tomball Intermediate School. The funds were also utilized for instructional technology, school buses, and land purchases as well as the installation of utilities.[9] Approximately 3,600 voters voted on Bond 2017, which passed by roughly 1700 votes.[9]
In 2018, Tomball ISD was named as a finalist in the 17th Annual H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards program in the large school district division. The award recognizes outstanding school districts demonstrating a commitment to student achievement through innovative programs, parent and community involvement, and professional development opportunities for teachers and administrators.[10]
In November 2021, voters approved Propositions A and B of Bond 2021 - a $494.5 million bond program that will fund four new schools (two elementary, one intermediate, and a third high school) and facilities, including the purchase of the former BJ Services Headquarters building now called the Eastside Complex (which will become the Tomball Innovation Center and, as of January 2023, is the new home for Tomball Star Academy)[11] and a pre-K center, infrastructure, renovations, transportation, technology for staff and students as well as security updates. Voters did not approve Propositions C, D, and E of Bond 2021, which would have provided an additional $73.1 million for athletic facility upgrades, a natatorium at the third high school, and a new fine arts/athletics multi-use facility at each of the three high schools. Propositions A and B received roughly 57% approval, and Propositions C, D, and E received roughly 47% approval.[12] Approximately 8,600 voters voted on Bond 2021, with Propositions A and B each passing by roughly 1200 votes and Propositions C, D, and E each failing to pass by roughly 500 votes.[13]
On October 10, 2022, the district broke ground on the Jeurgen Road complex, between Mueschke Rd and Cypress-Rosehill Rd on the western edge of the district that will include the new high school, the intermediate school, and one of the elementary schools approved in Bond 2021.[14] The other elementary school was to be built at the Eastside Complex.[15] In May 2023, the district announced that the elementary school planned for the Eastside Complex would instead be an intermediate school to relieve Creekside Park Junior High and the elementary schools in its feeder pattern. This Intermediate School #5 would have made all the elementary schools in the district serve grades K-4 and all the junior highs serve grades 7-8.[16] In December 2023, in response to parent protests, TISD decided to expand Creekside Park Junior High to include grades 5-8 instead of building a new intermediate school outside of the Creekside Park Village area.
In September 2023, Tomball ISD's superintendent, Martha Salazar-Zamora, was named Superintendent of the Year (SOTY) by the Texas Association of School Boards.[17]
Between 1964 and 1974, Tomball ISD presented a "Spring Festival" at the high school auditorium on Main Street that involved all grades and included a Coronation Ceremony, talent show, and musical and theatrical performances.[18]
Since 1981, the district has presented a "Patriotic Show" during a football game each season to honor military members and veterans in the Tomball community with a combined band and drill team performance, a veterans dinner and on-field salute, and fireworks.[19] Since the opening of Tomball Memorial High School in 2011, the Patriotic Show has been presented at the Tomball-Tomball Memorial rivalry game. 2022 marked the 42nd presentation of the Patriotic Show.
Since 2007, Tomball High School conducts a homecoming parade down Main Street in downtown Tomball during Homecoming Week.[20] Tomball Memorial High School also conducts a homecoming parade around the Memorial High School campus each year.[21]
Tomball ISD largely served just the City of Tomball and its surrounding rural area until the early 2000s, when expansion of the northwest Houston suburbs and The Woodlands reached the district boundaries, bringing suburban developments into the district. The two suburban population centers in the district, Northpointe/Oakcrest in the south and The Woodlands' Village of Creekside Park in the east, have accelerated the district's growth, making it a "Fast Growth" district since around 2010.[22] Starting in 2020, suburban real estate demand driven by the COVID pandemic increased development activity throughout the district with thousands of new homes expected to be built in the district by 2030.[23]
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In 2010, the school district was rated "Recognized" by the Texas Education Agency.[38]