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Humble ISD survey finds community prefers underground detention for Foster Elementary; district warns option could delay opening
Summary
Humble ISD staff told the board that 505 community surveys showed a 78% preference for underground detention at the planned Foster Elementary rebuild, but officials said the underground option could delay the school's opening and increase costs while permitting is resolved with the city of Houston.
Jamie Maut, a district staff member, presented results of a community survey on the planned Foster Elementary School rebuild and said the majority of respondents prefer underground detention rather than above-ground detention. "There were 505 surveys that were completed," Maut told the board, adding that about half of respondents were parents, about half were community members and that 43 staff members ("which represents almost all of the Foster Elementary staff members") completed the survey.
The survey recorded 957 open-ended comments and, according to Maut, "78% of the respondents said that they want underground detention as opposed to above ground detention." She said underground detention was the most-mentioned comment and that other common requests included expanding green or play space and questions about parking, fencing and walking paths.
The preference matters because detention location affects site layout, permitting and construction timing. A district staff member, Dr. Seibert, told trustees the city of Houston requires detention to be in place before certain major building components can proceed. "With the above ground detention, this campus is scheduled to open in August of 2026. However, if underground detention is ultimately pursued, then it's potential that the campus could open probably not in August of 2026, but in the spring semester of that school year," Maut said. She also cautioned that "since construction can be unpredictable, it's possible it will be delayed a whole school year opening in the 2728 school year."
On permitting and timing, Dr. Seibert said district staff have met with the city to explore whether permitting or milestone sequencing could be accelerated if the board selects underground detention, but he said there were no firm cost or timing estimates yet: "we're still looking at that and what those costs would be because it's currently going through the design process." He added the district is obtaining information from the city and the contractor about permitting, timelines and cost and that the matter will be returned to the board when that information is available.
Maut also described design tradeoffs: because underground versus above-ground detention changes where play areas, parking and other site elements can fit, respondents were repeatedly asked about detention preference. Maut summarized the next steps: the district will obtain permitting and cost information and "when that information is known, it will be presented at a future school board meeting for consideration and potential action."
