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Southwest Bexar County To Get First New High School In 40 Years

Joey Palacios
/
Texas Public Radio
District officials and board members of SWISD turn the first dirt for their middle and high schools

The dirt is already turning on the 200 acres of land that will hold the Southwest Legacy High School and the Judith Resnik Middle School. The $110 million complex has been funded by the Southwest ISD’s 2012 bond.

According to Superintendent Lloyd Verstuyft, “This is the first high school to be built in the area south of Highway 90 in the last 40 years.” That is a long wait! “This is kind of a validation of the growth coming this way and we’re preparing for that. We think we’re going to change the skyline of our school district, but we also think we’re enhancing San Antonio,” Verstuyft added.

There are 13,000 students in Southwest, but number is expected to go up, according to district projections. “We looked at research with our growth and planning committee, about how smaller schools provide more opportunity for engagement. We really want to create an environment where our students can excel and get involved in either extra-curricular, co-curricular,” said Verstuyft. “So it’s all about creating opportunity for kids.”

It is expected that the complex will be complete before the 2016-17 school year.

Joey Palacios can be reached atJoey@TPR.org and on Twitter at @Joeycules