Construction slated to start on Manvel High

Brothers said construction contracts were expected to be awarded this week, which will lead to construction work beginning within 30 days. It will take about 18 months to finish.

Plans for the school were completed and approved last month, she said.

The $52 million campus is part of a $97 million bond package approved last year by voters. The 116-acre property was bought with $870,000 from a 2000 bond issue.

The new school will accommodate the growth that the district expects in the coming years, said Pat Miller, director of building programs.

The facility will have a capacity for 1,500 students but can be expanded to 2,500, he said.

Student enrollment at Alvin High School last year was 2,895. Due in large part of the growth on the district's west side, that figure is projected to reach nearly 4,000 by 2006, Brothers said.

Most of the students who will attend the new school will come from the rapidly growing west side of the district.

Among the new neighborhoods springing up on the west side is Shadow Creek Ranch, which is west of Texas 288 and south of Shadow Creek Parkway. It is slated for 7,500 homes and 3,500 apartment units.

The Savannah subdivision north of Texas 6 near the Fort Bend County line has more than 2,200 homes planned. The South Fork subdivision at the corner of Texas 288 and County Road 59 may provide 1,000 new homes.

The school will have three educational houses for 500 students each, Miller said. Three gyms, a standard swimming pool and a sub varsity football field with 1,000 seats are planned.

Stadiums for track, soccer, baseball and softball are in the works, as well, he said.