With growth in Katy ISD expected to push several high schools beyond capacity during the next five years, the district plans to open its seventh high school—which is unnamed as of press time—in the fall of 2013.

Enrollment in Katy ISD schools increased by 1,840 students leading into the 2011–12 school year, bringing the total number of students enrolled in the district to 64,294. The district has been among the fastest growing in the United States over the first decade of the 21st century in which it grew by 76 percent, said Tom Gunnell, chief operations officer with Katy ISD.

The growth can be expected to continue, said Pat Guseman, a population and survey analyst working with the district.

"If we look at the growth rate five years forward, we expect to reach 75,500 students," Guseman said.

Planners identified the southwest quadrant of the district as an ideal location for the new school, where construction is already under way. From that location, the school can provide relief to Seven Lakes High School as well as Katy, Morton Ranch and Cinco Ranch high schools to a lesser extent.

"Enrollments at most high schools have remained stable, but Seven Lakes currently has about 4,000 students with a design capacity of 3,000," Gunnell said. "Providing relief to Seven Lakes has been among our top priorities with this project."

Enrollment at Seven Lakes High School is projected to increase to around 6,133 students by 2017 if no relief is provided. That number decreases to 3,175 students when high school seven enters the picture. Katy High School, projected to hit 5,581 students by 2022, would also see relief.

Where growth occurs within Katy ISD can be predicted by looking at where new housing developments come in, Guseman said. She said 34,442 new houses are expected to come to Katy over the next 10 years, and the southwest quadrant of the city is expected to see the bulk of the housing development over the next five years.

At an Oct. 29 school board meeting, officials debated how to lay out the boundaries for high school seven in a way that helps Seven Lakes without setting the new school up to be overburdened in the future.

"Much like Seven Lakes, we expect high school seven to rapidly increase enrollment over its first few years," Gunnell said. "We do not want to take so many students from Seven Lakes that it leaves them under capacity while high school seven grows beyond capacity."

The school board received comments from the public on the school's boundaries between Oct. 30 and Nov. 16. Final recommendations on attendance boundaries will be made to the school board by the end of 2012.

About $137 million has been budgeted for the project, which includes money for construction, utilities, architects, engineers, furniture, equipment and technology, said Steve Stanford, director of communications with the district. The money comes from a 2010 bond referendum.

The school will initially open only to freshmen and sophomores in the fall of 2013. It will grow into a full-service high school as those students become seniors, Stanford said. The school is projected to service 865 students in its first year, and to have an enrollment of 3,251 by 2017.

With student populations expected to continue rising, school officials are also planning for an eighth high school, but they say it will not be available until 2018 at the earliest.

Another big event in the short history of High School No. 7 will be naming it. Schools can be named after people, historic places, subdivisions or geographic areas. Nominations are taken from the public and a selection committee will be created—chaired by the superintendent—to pick the name.