Despite lagging new home sales within the district, Tomball ISD is still predicting its enrollment numbers to increase over the next several years.

Assistant Superintendent for Ancillary Services David Schuelke presented a report to the Tomball ISD Board of Trustees Feb. 8 that projected the district’s enrollment to increase from 10,240 this year to 16,802 by 2020.

While it’s generally believed that the Great Recession has not hit Texas as hard as some other states, home foreclosures are still a problem in the Houston area. According to Schuelke’s report, there were more than 3,000 home foreclosures in the greater Houston area as of October 2009. However, while communities such as Spring, Katy, Humble and Cypress saw foreclosures in the 200s, Tomball was well behind that pace with 95.

Schuelke said that while some families are losing their homes in Tomball, they often remain in the district.

“We have a lot of families moving back in with parents and grandparents,” he said.

The report included a survey of Tomball ISD neighborhoods and the progress of new home development and sales. The report cited the district’s latest foray into The Woodlands as the “most active area of the district,” while locations in the northwest portion of the district have “not a lot of activity.”

In August 2011, Tomball ISD is expected to open the doors to its second high school, Tomball Memorial, in the southern portion of the district. While Schuelke said that this area of the district is still growing, his report showed approximately 1,200 lots in the area surrounding the new high school as undeveloped.

Still, student enrollment in Tomball ISD shows no signs of slowing down. This year, enrollment numbers have jumped from 9,723 in 2008-09 to 10,240 in 2009-10, an increase of 5 percent, with more than 4,200 of those students being in elementary schools.

Tomball ISD is projecting that enrollment will eclipse the 11,000 mark for the first time in the 2011-12 school year.

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