New Navarro High School on its way up

Seguin, TX, USA / Seguin Today
Cindy Aguirre

Superintendent shares excitement of launching construction
(Geronimo) – The wheels are finally spinning for the construction of Navarro ISD’s future high school.

After almost two years of being approved by voters, things are beginning to take shape for the district’s new multi-million dollar campus to be built south of Link Road.

Excited to announce the latest developments is Navarro Superintendent Mandy Epley. Epley says getting the construction process underway was among her top priorities when appointed to the position this past spring.

“We are excited. Definitely coming on board, I was very active in wanting to move the project along. From an outsider’s point of view, I had heard a lot of rumors about the project and so I was very interested in knowing what the facts were about the project and what the timeline was for the fulfillment of the bond through the construction of the high school so working with the team here as well as our general contractor, I feel like we have moved leaps and bounds in the last couple of months and so, we did have the notice to proceed for our general contractor which is Bartlett Cocke,” said Epley.

Epley says the district has been steadily working with the city of Seguin to ensure the infrastructure and other details for the project. She says it’s a process that folks will not be able to miss as they begin arriving back on campus this August.

“Our contractor has secured the site work and the utilities, our electrical, fire alarm, plumbing, the steel subcontractors and they are submitting all of those documents to the city and TxDOT so we can start our water and wastewater work and so we are hoping to start turning ground in August and have a groundbreaking ceremony where we are able to bring everybody out really to see those moving the dirt and it becomes a bit more of a reality in August for our families to actually see that it’s going to happen,” said Epley.  

The new high school has been master-planned for expansion and is designed to house up to 1,100 students. It will include CTE (career & technical education) space, a practice gym, competition gym, a fine arts area with a theater seating of 750, Ag facilities, Ag barn, Ag/FFA and CTE conference room plus a designated dance studio.

The scope of this large project did include a few challenges along the way – challenges that Epley says the district has since hurtled through.

“We got out there and started looking at how we were going to connect electricity from the other side of 123. We are closing on a piece of property that allows us to move an existing house off of Timmermann and 123 and back into the pecan field behind it so that when we build our entrance point into the high school, we won’t damage that house or flood that house. As you know, this area is extremely low and so a big part of the project has been making sure that we address drainage, flood potential, and mitigation throughout the project. So, it’s been a big concern of ours to make sure we do it right so that the city has something they are very proud of, and our district feels like it’s well constructed, and their tax dollars were used responsibly because this is a fantastic investment for the future,” said Epley.

Epley says the dynamics of the district will continue to change making the construction of this new high school a pivotal piece in the district’s future.

“The growth that this area is seeing will bring lots of families who are coming here for the relatively affordable housing. In this day and age, everything has escalated but I think it is still as I talk to real estate agents, one of the more affordable areas here for people who are interested in living and working in the area or commuting out to either San Antonio or Austin and then on top of that, just the reputation of the school district and the way that we have kept and maintained high academic standards as well as a really community family feel here that I think is really drawing more and more families here and we want to be able to have the facilities for kids to be able to experience new things and learn and feel safe and so very grateful for our taxpayers trusting us with that and I’m eager for them to get to see that the work behind the scenes will now be visible to them because I know that can be frustrating to not see that progress and so we are excited to be able to start making it visible for the community,” said Epley.

District officials say they hope to continue with the construction process and look forward to opening the doors to the new high school in the fall of 2025.

View article on SeguinToday.com