After years of talk and not a lot of shovels in the ground, Aldine ISD is finally moving ahead with a full rebuild of George Washington Carver High School in Acres Homes and a new district-level Education and Performing Arts Center. Both projects come out of the district's 2023 bond and rank among the largest campus investments Aldine has rolled out in recent memory.
Construction on the Carver overhaul is scheduled to kick off this September and wrap up by July 2028. The rebuild is pegged at roughly $116 million and will center on a new, three-story main building of about 250,000 square feet with an auditorium, dining hall and gym, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Project Scope And Campus Design
Aldine officials say the new Carver campus is designed to double down on the school's arts and technical focus rather than wipe the slate clean. Plans call for a dedicated performing arts center, a black box theater, dance and mariachi rooms, visual arts classrooms and CTE labs for robotics and mechatronics.
Speaking at the district's March groundbreaking, Superintendent LaTonya Goffney told the crowd that the modern facilities are meant to build on Carver's legacy, not erase it. The new campus "will not replace history; it will extend it," she said, according to Aldine ISD.
Funding And Bond Breakdown
The work is funded through a voter-approved $1.8 billion bond that passed in November 2023. The three-proposition package, which Aldine leaders have framed as a long-term facilities reset, prioritizes campus rebuilds, technology upgrades and a central education and performing arts venue, according to Aldine ISD.
Within that package, the Carver rebuild is grouped alongside other large-scale campus projects and systemwide improvements that are expected to roll out in phases over several years, the Houston Chronicle has reported.
Price Tags And What Comes Next
Project paperwork puts the Carver rebuild at about $116 million, while roughly $104 million is tied to the standalone Education & Performing Arts Center, according to the Houston Business Journal. Aldine's own bond materials list Proposition C, which covers the Education and Performing Arts Center, at about $122.3 million, a reminder that ballot-level totals and project budgets can shift as designs, scopes and phasing are finalized, according to Aldine ISD.
For Carver's students and arts faculty, the payoff is expected to be substantial. The magnet campus for performing and visual arts should see more rehearsal and performance space and deeper career pathways linked to theater, mariachi and technical programs. District officials say the next steps include selecting an architect and securing a contractor, followed by phased demolition and site work. Students will be shifted to temporary locations as construction moves forward so the campus can keep operating while the rebuild takes shape.
