Consultants tell New Caney ISD to plan for tens of thousands of new homes; district could need multiple new schools

Consultants from Casa Demographics presented a demographic and housing study to the New Caney Independent School District Board of Trustees on March 17, 2025, projecting 18,482 new housing occupancies in the district over the next 10 years and forecasting several thousand additional students that will strain current capacity.

The report matters because the projected growth would require the district to add multiple elementary and middle schools, plan for relief at high school attendance zones and deploy portables in the near term while longer-term facilities are sited and built.

Chris Poole, a planner with Casa Demographics, told the board the firm updated census, Texas Education Agency and local appraisal-district data and geocoded current students to generate district- and planning-unit-level projections. "You guys have gained about 3,600 students between the fall of 18 and the fall of 23," Poole said, underscoring recent growth trends the study used as a baseline.

Caroline Couch, the demographer on the team, summarized the housing forecast: "We project 18,482 new occupancies over the 10-year projection period." The…