Over 80 parents and community members came together at Andrada High School on November 7th to discuss the new High School for Vail. Those in attendance broke into 4 groups to discuss issues and options involved in the construction, location, and focus of the new High School. Currently, the new school is funded to house 1000 students without extracurricular facilities. The cost to do so would be twice as much as what the state has given us.
One of the concerns mentioned was that a new high school for only 1000 students did not seem big enough, with the massive growth Vail School District is seeing each year. VUSD adds approximately 400+ new students each year. Another issue discussed was getting students to attend or chose the new school when there are no extracurricular facilities. Several options were mentioned like soliciting private donations, building practice fields only, rotating the use of Cienega and Empire’s facilities, and partnering with the Parks and Rec facilities to save money.
Another major topic discussed was where the new school will be located. Certain factors that will decide this include the cost of land, population density, state land vs. private land, and current road access for buses.
These 4 new committees will continue to meet each month to discuss the vision and planning of the new high school. We are grateful to the parents and community members who take an active role in serving our students and our community by taking on this important task. We appreciate their willingness to embrace the VUSD’s motto, “Where Education is a Community Effort.”
