YOUR AD HERE »

High school should remain in town

POST INDEPENDENT OPINION

Glenwood Springs High School belongs in Glenwood Springs, not on some location outside of the city limits.We support the Roaring Fork School District’s decision to keep the high school on its current campus. To do that, an entire new high school has to be built next to the current one.The decision doesn’t come without a headache, though.To be able to build a new high school while still keeping its current high school operational, the district needs to expand the high school’s campus.Re-1 needs to buy six acres of land that border Grand Avenue next to its campus. That means several businesses and a few residences will be left out in the cold, an unfortunate prospect indeed.The district is in a no-win situation. It’s a bad neighbor for wanting to buy the property and, unfortunately, displace businesses and tenants. And it needs to pass a bond to be able to pay for the high school and other needed projects.Even with the new land, the high school campus won’t be at the size it should be – estimates say that a high school in a town the size of Glenwood Springs needs to be on about 38 acres.The situation is not ideal. In a perfect world, the district would be able to find 40 acres in the middle of town and build a new school without any headaches. No one would be displaced, and everyone’s happy. That will never happen in a town where there’s no significant amount of vacant land left. Even the alternative sites outside of town would cost the district millions more than the plan of building on the current campus.But we’ve said it before: The high school needs to be where it is. And residents agree. In a survey the district commissioned, 76 percent of those surveyed said keep the high school in Glenwood.The bottom line is the high school is an artifact, an antiquated building that has outlived its usefulness. Our children need and deserve a new high school with all the amenities that would bring.Most small towns have a love affair with their high school. Glenwood is no different. The high school is a willing partner with the community in many endeavors that benefit us all.Keeping the school at its current location is the right move.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.