Lee County School District Selects New Gateway High School Principal

 

The Lee County school district has decided on the principal for the new high school being built in Fort Myers. Neketa Watson, who most recently served as principal of Lehigh Acres Middle School, was selected by the district to be the principal for the new high school in the east zone. Watson, a graduate of Jackson State University, served as a teacher at Lehigh Senior, an Assistant Principal at Lehigh Senior, an Assistant Principal at East Lee County and recently principal at Lehigh Acres Middle School.

 

Construction on the new high school is targeted to begin early this fall at the corner of Griffin Drive and State Road 82 in Gateway. Construction is anticipated to last until the summer of 2021. News outlets estimate the cost of the project to be between $75 and $78 million, the school layout will match the new Bonita Springs high school with an additional third story. The school plans to open fall 2021, bringing in a sophomore class that was taught in portables at Lehigh Senior High during the 2020 school year and a new freshman class. There is no expectation to have a junior and senior class that first year, but a final decision has not been made.

 

The new school will help support Gateway’s large residential community; along with the growing commercial development in and around Gateway. Gartner opened their third campus in the nearby Skyplex at Southwest Florida International Airport with the two other campuses in Gateway, Alta Resources has plans to expand into the Skyplex, and Neogenomics will build their headquarters in the area.