Pocatello/Chubbuck school district updating outdoor facilities in major project

The Pocatello/Chubbuck school district has several big projects in the works for the next several years. The projects focus on remodeling and updating some of the school’s outdoor facilities.

The first project is Highland High School, where construction started a week ago. The new track and field venue at Highland will have additional seating, including visitor seating. It will have a new drainage system and lights, so that the field can host more nighttime sporting games and activities. Work will also be done on the baseball diamonds to improve their quality. Work on Highland is scheduled to be finished by Sept. 1, before the school year gets into full swing.

“We want it to look and feel different,” said Bart Reed, director of business operations for the school district. “We want it to be more functional by way of athletic events and outdoor activities that can be held there.”

The second project will take place at Hawthorne Middle School in the summer of 2018. The track there will be remodeled. The third project will be resurfacing the track at Century High School in the summer of 2019.

Reed said there are two more phases of the projects which will take place the following two years, but what those projects will be have not been determined yet.

Reed said the board of trustees approached the district back in early 2016 about doing a comprehensive outdoor facilities project. Reed said the district feels this is a needed project.

“The Pocatello/Chubbuck school district has not had a viable track and field venue or location where we can host local track and field events, district or regional events, or even possibly some state events,” Reed said.

With the updates to the facilities at Highland, and at Century, the school district could have those opportunities. With large track meets or other sporting events, come visitors. And with those guests staying in local hotels and eating at local restaurants, the improved track venues could really help boost Pocatello’s economy, Reed said.

Reed said the current track at Highland is about 50 years old, so having a new and improved facility will be a great benefit.

He said he feels the outdoor facilities project will be very beneficial. He said these facilities are public facilities and can be used by a number of people. He said parks and recreation and other similar groups often use their current venues. So these improvements are not just for the individual schools or the school district – they are for everyone.

“I think that when we get done and everything is complete, we will be very pleased with the project,” Reed said.

The cost of the track remodels and updates for Highland, Hawthorne and Century costs about $4 million. The money is not coming from the general operating budget of the school district. Reed said it is coming from a building levy fund the school district has set aside. He said the public voted in favor of it and it has been in existence for about 60 years. Each year, he said the district sets aside around half a million dollars to that fund for needed projects like this.