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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 50-year reunion planned by class of 1965 graduates of the long-closed Archbishop Ryan High School has taken on new meaning with the district's decision to buy the property and build a new school there.
District officials say they're looking to build a new high school to help ease crowding at South and Bryan High Schools, making it unlikely that any part of Ryan High would be renovated, the Omaha World-Herald (http://bit.ly/1MJzYLj ) reported. But voters still have to approve a second bond issue to follow the $421 million measure passed this spring.
Reunion organizers say a building tour scheduled for Aug. 22 will be open to any graduate who wants to attend. It could be the last opportunity they get to wander the halls they knew as students.
Bob Hayes, one of the reunion's organizers, said he's glad to know the property likely will continue as a high school. Alumni say they don't want to let the building go without celebrating the school and what it meant for them.
"We're saying goodbye to the building, but we're also saying goodbye to those first crushes, those first kisses," Hayes said.
Ryan High was built in 1958 and merged with Paul VI High School in 1983. It was renamed St. Joseph High School, and it closed in 1989 because of declining enrollment.
For the past 23 years, the building has housed Liberty Christian Center and its ministries and outreach programs.
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Information from: Omaha World-Herald, http://www.omaha.com
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