Highland High School is officially trading textbooks for tractors, at least on part of campus. On Wednesday, April 22, the Salt Lake City School District held a ceremonial groundbreaking in Sugar House to kick off a long planned, $300 million rebuild of the school. District leaders say the multi year construction push will reshape most of the site and temporarily disrupt athletics, parking and access along the way.
Student body officers donned hardhats, grabbed shovels and joined district officials and elected leaders to mark the start of work. The event drew a crowd of students, staff and community members and set a celebratory tone for the overhaul, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
The district has budgeted $300 million for the Highland rebuild and estimates construction will take roughly 46 to 48 months, with completion targeted around 2030. The plan calls for a new main building on the north side of campus so students can keep attending classes in the existing school while work is underway. District documents show about $8.3 million has already gone into early site work and preconstruction planning (Salt Lake City School District).
What’s planned
District materials describe a modern, flexible layout with a “shared classroom” model meant to give teachers and students more adaptable space. Design decisions have been shaped by community open houses and weekly meetings between architects and school leaders, who have been fine tuning how the new campus will function day to day…