Construction finishes under budget for 2 Alvin ISD campuses

Residents in fast-growing Alvin Independent School District will see the first fruits from a comprehensive construction bond issue this fall with the opening of two schools. In 2018, district voters approved a $480.5 million bond issue that provided funds for construction and renovation of multiple campuses. Through projects that proceeded during the pandemic, the two schools opening in August came in under budget. Both are in Manvel, with the E.C. Mason Elementary School replacement facility sited at 7220 School Road and Jackie Doucet Caffey Junior High School at 9727 Pursley Blvd. For the bond, Mason Elementary was budgeted at $27.7 million and construction costs amounted to $20.1 million. Caffey, which will be the district’s eighth junior high, was estimated to cost $50.14 million and came in at $37.5 million. “When you budget, you’re projecting multiple years out, so you’re (calculating for) inflation that may or may not happen,” said Bill Van Wagner, the district’s director of building programs. Which is what occurred over the last few years as inflation was diminished. “It was lucky that these schools came in (under budget),” Van Wagner said. Some of the other projects funded through the bond could be substantially higher than projected costs, he said. Mason Elementary will be something of a reincarnation as it will replace an existing school. The original Mason, 7400 Lewis Lane, opened in 1979 and was one of the oldest schools in the district. District officials determined the building was past the point of being upgraded. “It was just more beneficial to not try to update and just build a brand-new school,” said Rachel Moore, Alvin ISD communications coordinator. The new E.C. Mason Elementary is on a 12-acre site and is expected to have an enrollment of 800. No enrollment changes will occur with the move to the new campus. “There’s no rezoning for that school,” Moore said. “It’s literally across the street from the old E.C. Mason.” Caffey Junior High will house 1,000 students on its 28-acre campus and is ready to welcome students now. “Jackie Caffey Junior High is 100 percent done,” Moore said. “The library books are in and that school will open in the fall for the kids.” “These kids are going to have a beautiful campus and that’s going to be great,” said A.J. Johnson III, a recently elected school board member. “It kind of makes you want to go back to school.” Tina McCorkle is Caffey’s principal. Previously, she was principal at Jeter Elementary School. The school’s sports teams will be known as the Cardinals. AISD has been growing at an incredible rate. At the start of the 2015 school year, the district had about 22,000 kids. Going into 2020, it had an enrollment of about 27,000, representing a 21.7 percent increase. By the 2030 school year, the district could have as many as 36,000 students. Aside from Mason Elementary and Caffey Junior High, the 2018 construction bond issue also approved funds for: construction of Iowa Colony High School — the district’s fourth high school — opening summer 2022 construction of Delbra Nichols-Wilma Mock Elementary School, opening summer 2023 construction of Barbara Bennett Elementary School, opening summer 2023 renovations at Harby Junior High School, due to be completed by the summer of 2023 construction of LeRoy Castro Junior High School, opening summer 2024 rebuilding Alvin Elementary School, due to be done by summer 2024 John DeLapp is a freelance writer. He can be contacted at texdelapp@gmail.com.

Construction finishes under budget for 2 Alvin ISD campuses

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