Before their monthly board meeting on Tuesdays members of the Washington County School District Board of Education took a tour through the new high school building in the city of Hilldale along with city council members and the mayor.
They took a look at all of the construction currently underway for Water Canyon High School which will have a new vocational education building and athletic complex that is almost complete. Bryan Dyer is the facilities director for Washington County Schools and he oversees construction projects around the district. He said he is looking forward to the school taking over the finished building at its completion next month in August. He believes the vocational building will serve the community well to help engage those students that are more interested and inclined to jobs with vocational trades. This new school will give students in the Washington County area an opportunity for a wider range of educational experiences that more fit their interests. The sports fields are also going to be a great addition to the community as well.
A significant group of board members, city officials, and any interested community residents took a tour through the unfinished high school building while the sounds of drills, scissor lifts, and other construction noises filled the background. Dyer explained the purposes of each individual room and pointed out key details to the tour group.
Once completed, the vocational building of the high school will house classrooms, shop space for computer sciences, graphic design, cabinetry, welding, ceramics, and agricultural science courses. There will be a greenhouse and a garden for agricultural science students just outside of the new building in addition to a kiln for students studying ceramics.
The new construction building is located down the street from the rest of the Water Canyon High School on the northeast corner of Utah Avenue and Collin Street. Just south of this brand new vocational building is the new football Stadium and track with baseball and softball diamonds to the southwest of the football stadium. New classrooms and the new sports facilities will be available for use by all of the students of Water Canyon High School.
The projected cost of these new facilities is around $10 million according to the school district. The district contracted with White Construction Company for the project and the construction has been overseen by the general superintendent Juan Lopez who has been a Cedar City resident for 15 years. The school district loves to hire local contractors making it possible to build within their own city or town. There is some outsourcing to find especially skilled tradesmen, but for the most part, many of the contractors helping to construct the new facilities at Water Canyon High School have been local workers.
So far the project has been able to continue on pace with just a few challenges that are customary with the field of construction. There’s always bound to be a surprise or two that pops up where construction is concerned. Many are excited about the new opportunities that this vocational building and sports complex will give to the students of Washington County.
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