The budget for the new Gulf Shores High School is increasing nearly $7 million to now include a covered practice pavilion with an artificial turf playing surface.

The City of Gulf Shores and Gulf Shores City Schools recently requested an Architect's Supplementary Instruction (ASI) for the addition, with Rabren General Contractors providing a $6,817,304 final cost proposal on Wednesday, June 12. City council originally awarded the company the contract to build Gulf Shores High School in an amount not to exceed $131 million in early February, which has now become a revised total contract price of $137,363,907.

"I don't believe that there will ever be a more important project in the City of Gulf Shores than this one," Mayor Robert Craft said upon the contract's approval. "I have lived here my whole life and watched this city. I am proud that we can introduce something like this, and it will last forever."

State grants will cover $4,872,633 of this update, and the remaining $1,944,671 will come from local/reserve money. Gulf Shores City Schools will be responsible to pay for this change order.

Superintendent Matt Akin has maintained this project is not about pleasing aesthetics or simply meeting capacity but how to best support students and teachers.

"This new high school was designed with the needs of students and teachers at the forefront," Akin said. "It embraces collaboration and innovation and will facilitate a new way of learning that will increase engagement and outcomes in every aspect of our students' educational experience."

Ground was broken at the 200-acre site in April and is expected to reach completion in late 2025 with the 287,000-square-foot campus opening in fall 2026.