Community, school leaders discuss future of Highland High School

POCATELLO — Members of the community expressed differing opinions to Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25 leaders at a public forum on the future of Highland High School.

The district has narrowed down the possible scenarios for how to recover from the fire that ripped through Highland’s D-wing on April 21 from four to two.

There were fifteen people who spoke at the public forum, and support for both of the plans was nearly split down the middle. Both sides of the issue kept their comments civil and respectful to the board and those in attendance.

RELATED | The future of Highland High School is still being decided

The first plan, dubbed scenario A, would be to renovate Highland High School on the existing grounds with significant enhancements. Scenario B would be to build a new high school and repurpose Highland’s existing facility to a middle school. Both scenarios would expand and enhance the gym facility at Century High School.

In scenario A, Highland’s enrollment capacity would go from 1,500 to 2,000 students. They would expand and enhance Highland’s auditorium to increase capacity, gym and activity space.

In scenario B, a new 2,000 student capacity high school would be built in a new location. Highland would maintain the use of existing outdoor athletic facilities while the existing school would be repurposed into a middle school with Alameda Middle School relocating there. Alameda would be repurposed into an elementary school and they would consolidate two to three elementary schools there, selling the elementary school buildings to apply toward bond payments. The attendance zones would be refigured to adapt to these changes.

In both scenarios, they would be partially funded through insurance replacement funds, totalling at around $25 million, depending on the final insurance settlement. The anticipated bond of Scenario A would be $42 million. Scenario B has an anticipated bond of $115 million.

The school district’s bond measure will potentially be on the ballot on Nov. 7.

RELATED | Highland High School failed its fire inspection before April’s blaze

Highland Principal Brad Wallace and Assistant Principal Travis Bell voiced their support for scenario A.

“We’re looking for giving our students what they need as quickly as possible with the least amount of impact on our taxpayers,” Wallace said. He also expressed that the classrooms they have are sufficient to meet students needs and, “we’ve already taken steps through what’s been presented in the option to to fill the other needs to that that are needed for Highland High School.”

Bell expressed the parts of Highland that burned down are the parts that they would want to rebuild, and they want to get their students back into what he sees as a brand new building. He acknowledged that parking spaces would need to be added, but said they still have “amazing classrooms.”

“The things that we miss and the people want in a new building is what was taken away from us and we would like it to be rolled back better, be bigger and to be able to hold more kids,” Bell said.

Zoe McEwan, 17, spoke about her experience at Highland High School and said she didn’t want to put either scenario above the other, just wanted people to know “the situation Highland is in.”

McEwan said she was in a classroom that had water coming out of wall every morning and the teacher in that room had an electrical issue. Many of the classrooms are overcrowded, with some students having to sit on the floor. She also said that there are multiple accidents in the parking lot and area around the school weekly.

“Highland is not a building. Highland is a community. Highland is the students that go there. Highland is the teachers that teach and Highland is academics and the sports that are played. No matter what is decided, that stays true and that stays strong,” McEwan said.