- Alpine School District broke ground on a second high school in Saratoga Springs.
- The new school, opening in 2028, aims to address overcrowding in existing schools.
- Superintendent Farnsworth calls it a hallmark for the district's future educational growth.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Alpine School District officials broke ground on what will become the second high school in Saratoga Springs.
Located just west of Mountain View Corridor, southeast from the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple, the new high school is expected to be "one of the best schools we have," Superintendent Shane Farnsworth said at Friday's groundbreaking.
"This is a monumental thing," he said. "This building will grow up as the new West District, Lake Mountain District, whatever it gets named; this will be a hallmark for that district."
Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain have experience massive growth over the last few years. Westlake High School, built in 2009, and Cedar Valley High School, built in 2019, are already exceeding their student capacities with Westlake having about 3,200 students this year, and Cedar Valley had approximately 3,400 last year.
"Thousands, probably hundreds of thousands, of students will go through this building ... and will have a transformative experience. They will have a significant part of their adolescence shaped by what occurs in this building. That is significant," Farnsworth said.
Alpine School District Board President Julie King said another high school allows the students to be better educated and taken care of.
"This school represents a symphony of effort — thousands of people each playing their part to bring a shared vision to life," she said. "To the construction team, you are laying more than concrete; you are laying the foundation for futures."
The high school isn't just a building but a "physical embodiment of our faith in the future" and represents the ideal that every child deserves to be educated, King said.
The new high school is scheduled to open in summer 2028 and is expected to be one of the largest in the state, according to the school district. It will be modeled after the design of middle schools in the area, such as soon-to-open Sage Canyon Middle School, but amplified to accommodate high school needs.
"We had to get a new design and chose to take our middle school and enlarge it into a high school, something that we're familiar with," director of physical facilities Frank Pulley.
The new school's location may come as a shock to some as it is less than two miles away from Westlake High School. Pulley said the location came down to where the district could find enough flat land.
"A lot of it comes down to a site that is going to be conducive for a high school. There is lots of flat surfaces needed in competition fields and the building footprint needs a lot of flat space to make it work ... and accommodate all the spaces and learning areas needed for a school," Pulley said.
Hattie Snow, 13 participated in the groundbreaking Friday as part of the first group of people to turn dirt over in the ceremony. She heard about the groundbreaking and thought it would be a cool opportunity to attend as she is excited for another school to be built.
"I'm actually happy because I know Westlake is a little crowded. We need a new school," Hattie said.
