GALVESTON – Ball High School has officially opened its doors in Galveston, welcoming students into a new campus designed to expand academic and career training opportunities across the island.

Hundreds of students, families and community members attended opening events at the facility, which was funded through Galveston ISD’s voter-approved 2022 bond program. Construction began in fall 2023, marking an investment of about $200 million in local education.

District leaders described the opening as a milestone not only for the school but for Galveston’s long history of public education.

Superintendent Matthew Neighbors said the moment connects the district’s past with its future. Galveston opened the first public high school in Texas in 1884. The following year, Central High School became the first African American high school in the state. In 1954, during segregation, the district built separate campuses for Ball High School and Central High School. Neighbors said the new campus represents the first time a single high school has been built to serve all students on the island.

The new campus spans 33,261 square feet and includes traditional classrooms, administrative offices, a cafeteria, library and a central courtyard designed to support collaboration and outdoor learning.

Career and technical education programs are a major focus of the new facility. Instead of housing those programs in a separate center, the district incorporated them into the main campus. Students now have access to spaces for welding, automotive technology, STEM programs, aerospace studies and health sciences within the same complex.

Additional specialized labs support hands-on learning in areas such as nursing, forensic science, robotics and culinary arts.

Teachers say the upgraded learning environment is already changing how classes operate. Larrian Menifee, the school’s choir director and a 2016 Ball High School graduate, said the new technology and facilities have been a major improvement. He also said returning to teach in the district has brought strong community support, with former teachers and residents expressing pride in seeing a graduate come back to lead a program.

Students are also adjusting to new classroom tools. One student said each room is equipped with updated smart board technology. While teachers and students are still learning how to use the systems, the student said the tools are expected to improve class structure and engagement.

District leaders and staff say the campus has been years in the making and reflects a broader goal of preparing students for both college and careers. For many in attendance, the opening marked not just a new building, but a new chapter for public education in Galveston.

_{Photo credit: KGTX7/Clayton Morgan}