Some Manvel Students Will Be Rezoned… Again

UPDATE: The next Rezoning meeting is scheduled for February 11th at the Tommy King Administration Building located at 301 E. House St. in Alvin. Perhaps this meeting should be held at the Liberty Alumni Hall/Heritage Complex • 10855 Iowa Colony Blvd., Iowa Colony to accommodate the taxpayers affected by the proposed changes.

Many high school students could be rezoned as early as next school year if the School Boundary Advisory Committee ends up signing off on the proposed changes.  The Alvin ISD school board will still have to approve it but it seems to be a no brainer because Shadow Creek High School (SCHS) is already beyond its capacity.  On the other hand, Manvel High school was at least 600 students below its capacity this school year.  Alvin ISD builds its High Schools for a capacity of 2,500 students and it is against its policy for the schools to be overcrowded.  The reason provided is it allows for a better learning environment for the students in a smaller school and one can presume a security reason too. 

Currently, the SCHS southern boundary goes all the way to SH 6 to the west of SH 288.  It excludes the subdivision of Lakes of Savannah.  The proposed new southern boundary for SCHS zoning will be moved all the way up to the American Canal which is basically located between CR 59 (Magnolia Parkway) and CR 58.  It actually draws a line between the Southfork and Pomona neighborhoods.  Students who reside in Southfork will continue to attend SCHS and everybody else from Pomona down south, Rodeo Palms included, will transition back to Manvel High School.  Some exceptions will be granted for some students to remain at their current campus as the transfer policy has been updated. These requests will be approved on a case by case basis. 

Bursting At The Seam

Keeping in mind the schools are built for 2,500 capacity, the current enrollment for the school year 2019-20 is 1,973 for MHS and 2,796 for SCHS.  Without the proposed changes SCHS could have more than 3,000 students next year while MHS would be just shy of 2,200.  If the rezoning changes go through, the enrollment forecast for the school year 2020-21 would be 2,568 for MHS and 2,604 for SCHS.  As you can see, it almost evens out the number of students for each school.  The problem comes in 2021-22, despite the rezoning changes, the projected enrollment forecast 3,001 students for MHS.  SCHS should remain stable with 2,613 students.  The growth in school enrollment for MHS is fueled by several neighborhood projects expanding at a crazy pace.  All combined Meridiana, Sterling Lakes/Sierra Vista, and Pomona area will have thousands of new homes added in the next 5 years.  On the contrary, Shadow Creek Ranch area is almost built out so growth is not so much expected in that area. 

Help Is On The Way

Fortunately, Alvin ISD High School number 4’s construction is underway on CR 64 in Iowa Colony.  It is located right across from the new stadium Freedom Field.  The school is projected to open for the school year 2022-23 and this will be a more than welcomed new campus for the district as MHS that will just be about to run out of space.  The School District is aware that changing schools is not ideal for students so we might expect them to be lenient with its transfer policy.  It is too early to determine the future enrollment once the new High School is open but one can expect new zoning changes for some neighborhoods. 

Alvin ISD in numbers

-10 Elementary Schools, 5 Junior High Schools and 1 High School opened since 2008-09

-27,063 students enrolled in the district

-252 square-miles covered by the district

-32,369 enrollment projections in 5 years from now

-1,500 news homes expected to be built within the next 12 months in the district

-3,197 employees work for the district

– $294,066,662 budget for 2018-19