Plans on schedule to welcome learners back to Highland High School and other SD25 schools on August 23
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - Demolition of the fire-impacted facilities at Highland High School began earlier than expected Friday morning due to an emergency approval granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EFP).
The demolition was originally scheduled to begin on Wednesday, August 2.
The area has been secured and the demolition is being led by Paul Davis Restoration. To ensure this process can be conducted expeditiously and safely, PCSD 25 officials ask that community members avoid the area.
"Beginning the demolition ahead of schedule is a great start to getting Highland prepared to welcome learners and staff back to school. We are grateful to all who played a role in initiating the process earlier than we anticipated," Dr. Douglas Howell said.
ORIGINAL: According to the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District 25, plans are on schedule to return to school at Highland High School for the 2023-2024 school year. School begins for all PCSD 25 schools on Wednesday, August 23. Since a fire partially destroyed Highland High School on April 21, the district has been working diligently to meet the goal to return learners and staff home to Highland High School with a traditional schedule for the new school year. The fire was ruled accidental and is a covered loss by the district’s insurance carrier.
All classroom and instructional spaces that were not impacted by the fire are intact, clean, and ready to welcome learners and staff. The district has completed work to restore all major utilities to the site, including power, water, and gas. The evaluation phase of the insurance investigation is also completed and demolition of the impacted areas is scheduled to begin on August 2. The demolition site will be fully secured to prioritize the safety of learners and staff and any unauthorized access is prohibited. The district will also complete environmental quality inspections prior to returning learners and staff to the building.
Working together with Highland’s administration, the district has finalized plans for all displaced instructional, co-curricular, and extracurricular programs that will need to be temporarily relocated in alternate facilities, which include:
Highland High School Commons Area
- Breakfast and lunch food service
Calvary Chapel Church (1633 Olympus Drive)
- Band
- Choir
- Dance
- Orchestra
Vacated Princeton LDS Church Building (42 Princeton Avenue)
- Cheer
- Wrestling
- Storage
Gateway Learning Center (located behind Highland High School near the Highland municipal golf course)
- Weight room
- Select PE/activity classes
- Food service preparation
Idaho State University, College of Technology
- Welding
Bannock County Fairgrounds South Parking Lot (Adjacent to stadium)
- Temporary parking solution
Highland High School Small Gym
- Anticipated to be completed early fall 2023
Plans also include the use of the Mountain View Event Center and other district gyms to accommodate extracurricular activities, including games and practices, for volleyball, boys and girls basketball and other needs.
The generosity of the community has ranged from waiving or reducing rental fees and graciously sharing school facilities to instrument donations and financial contributions. One local church even paused the sale of its building to benefit the Highland school community.
“The community’s support has been tremendous as we work to return Highland High School learners and staff back home with as little disruption and inconvenience as possible,” Dr. Douglas Howell said. “We’ve seen the community live the district’s motto to Be MORE TOGETHER in a way that will have a profound and lasting impact.”
The district is also excited to welcome learners to the first day of classes held at the new Portneuf Valley Technical Education and Career Campus. PV-TEC is located at the former Allstate building located at 4200 Hawthorne Road. PV-TEC will host classes for the following programs: Business Applications; Animal Science Vet Tech; Law; Certified Nurse Assistant; and Business, Computer and Cybersecurity.
Middle school and high school schedule pick-up is scheduled on August 9 and 10 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Learners may attend schedule pick-up at their regular school locations. PV-TEC will host Highland’s schedule pick-up.
Highland High School will host a back-to-school night on Monday, August 21 at 7:00 p.m. Families are encouraged to attend the event with their learner(s).
