Construction has been going on for more than six years at Skyline High School and has received a variety of criticism as well as support from the faculty, the administration, the public, and the student body.
Construction was necessary due to the old building’s age and condition, as well as a general need for newer, safer, and larger educational spaces. The new athletics building and large academic building are in use, while the auditorium, parking lot, and other class space is still being built.
Some would say that the process has been long and difficult, while others agree that it is a necessary change. Roxi Gandy, a Senior at Skyline, says, “The building looks good. I wish it would be done in time before graduation, but I’m glad they’re doing what they do.”
Seniors like Gandy have needed to accommodate to the growing and changing campus throughout the years. For example, a student might have a class in an outside relocatable at the edge of campus and then have their next class on the third floor of the academic building. Some students like Gandy have even said, “I think it’s made me late a couple of times.”
Complaints regarding the move from the old building to the new buildings have been prominent, especially for the faculty.
Some teachers have had to move more than once, back and forth from the relocatables. James Camargo, an Art teacher at Skyline for six years, says, “Moving into a new space is hard [and] the shuffle is pretty stressful.”
Long commutes aren’t the only concern people have had. Safety has been compared between the old buildings and the new buildings.
It seems that temperature control was a common issue among the older buildings, according to Camargo, who says, “The old building had a lot of heating and air problems. You’d have classrooms that were really hot and really cold.” Gandy, who experienced this herself, said, “I remember it being 40 degrees in Lambert’s room last year, and we couldn’t fix it. It was freezing.”
These issues were experienced throughout the buildings, with some classes more severe than others. How long these problems had been going on is unknown. However, the school has also had trouble with flooding.
Not only were parts of the building filled with rainwater in the fall of 2022, but boilers inside were also breaking down. Camargo, who dealt with a boiler, said, “It died [and] I came in, and it was leaking water all over a kiln, so it was definitely an old building that needed maintenance.”
Although these newer buildings don’t have many temperature issues, other concerns have been spoken of. Some of the student body and faculty members talk about the architectural aspects of the school and how it can be inconvenient or even hazardous in certain scenarios. At the end of each long hallway, there is a staircase. During passing periods, these stairwells can get extremely congested. Camargo, who has concerns about emergency exits, says, “Sometimes I worry if students were to panic to leave an area quickly. Sometimes, with the current state, there’s one or two stairwells where you’d get huge traffic jams moving through certain areas. So sometimes there are kind of chokepoints in the school”.
One core feature of the school’s design was the amount of glass on the outside and inside of the structure. The majority of classrooms share a community space within a pod. Each pod’s space has several tables, couches, or chairs, as well as a massive window from ceiling to floor. Not only is there a window to the outside, but every classroom also has a near full wall of glass that faces the community space. This design is liked among some but has some critiques among others.
As a student in several of these pods, Gandy says, “I think it can be kind of awkward for the pods, like the classroom. You can see inside of every single one of them.” Camargo brings up the point that “it makes the room potentially more accessible.”
In terms of safety, discussions have circulated throughout the student body about the glass’s real protection, especially during last year when it was opened for use. It’s not known whether any of the glass used is bulletproof or to what extent it is protective, especially in this era of so many school shootings. However, Gandy says, “I saw one of the windows […] broken by a rock or something in the athletics department.”
Although people at Skyline enjoy having this new space, there are aspects of the old building that are missed. Camargo says, “It had character [and] it was a little funky, but it had its own personality.” He also mentioned the style of the current building: “It’s nice and well-done, but it’s a little bit more generic.” Many would agree with Gandy, who says, “I miss the colors and the lockers. I think it could be more ‘homey feeling’ instead of ‘hospital feeling.’”
With people slowly adjusting to these changing environments, Camargo says, “I think the original timeline was shorter, but the past few years, I think, they had to add some to it, but as far as I know, it’s on track to be completed on time.”
