Local residents have raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest at Tomball Independent School District, citing leadership’s ties with district contractors.
Concerns have specifically been raised over Emilio Zamora, husband to Tomball ISD Superintendent Dr. Martha Salazar-Zamora, and his ties to an engineering firm that was awarded the management of bond projects approved by voters in 2025.
While Salazar-Zamora has served as superintendent of Tomball ISD since 2017, her husband has worked in client relations for Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, “a national, full-service civil engineering firm, offering planning, engineering and program management services” since 2024.
Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN) spent $10,000 to back a district bond. After the bond passed, the district selected LAN to manage the approved 2025 bond projects.
School board member Jennifer Kratky voted against the recommendation for LAN to oversee the district’s projects, citing their financial support of the PAC.
“My vote is based on one thing only and that is that Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam gave $10,000 to a political action committee that campaigned for passage of this bond that will ultimately benefit their company financially,” Kratky said. “While I understand this is perfectly legal to do, I personally find it distasteful.”
Judge Shepard, a policy analyst for the Texas Public Policy Foundation focused on local government and property rights, has highlighted a recurring issue in which construction and engineering firms support the political action committee backing the school bond and later receive sizable contracts funded by those same bonds.
“This creates a cycle in which modest political contributions can yield significant financial rewards,” wrote Shepard.
The bond projects approved by voters were broken down into four propositions on the May 3, 2025 ballot:
Proposition A – $331,595,000 ($578,423,809 with interest) for funding safety enhancements, school facility infrastructure replacements, refreshes to already existing campuses, expansion and updates to school programs, new schools, and to purchase new school buses.
The proposition passed with more than 63 percent approval from Harris County voters and more than 60 percent approval from Montgomery County voters
Proposition B – $18,000,000 ($31,398,630 with interest) for staff devices, student chromebook refresh, and the replacement of smart panels in classrooms.
The proposition passed with more than 64 percent approval from Harris County voters and more than 60 percent approval from Montgomery County voters.
Proposition C – $2,800,000 ($4,884,231 with interest) for “updates & lifecycle replacements” to the original Tomball high school stadium.
The proposition passed with more than 56 percent approval from Harris County voters and more than 52 percent from Montgomery County voters.
Proposition D – $76,700,000 ($133,793,049 with interest) for the construction of three multi-program activity centers.
The proposition passed with more than 56 percent approval from Harris County voters and more than 48 percent from Montgomery County voters.
Less than 4,000 residents voted in the May 2025 bond election. According to Census Reporter, there are more than 130,000 Tomball ISD residents, including children.
Bonds must be repaid with interest by local property taxpayers. That’s why Texas law requires each ballot proposition to state: “THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE.”
At the time of the bond’s passing, the district debt was more than $1.4 billion with interest.
On their website, the district states that “taxpayers in Tomball ISD will not see a Total District Tax Rate increase as a result of this bond.” But, according to posted documents, the district “assumes that the taxable assessed value within the District will grow at an average rate of 4.17% per year for the first 6 years and then remain constant for the life of the bonds.”
Texas Scorecard previously reported that former district tax assessor Kristi Williams is being federally charged for wire fraud.
Tomball ISD has not responded to a request for comment on the district’s policy regarding conflicts of interest or Dr. Martha Salazar-Zamora’s ties to LAN via her husband.
