Ground breaking for new building - Left: New Vista staff and speakers officially break ground on the site of the new high school’s building. Right: Patrita “Ime” Salazar speaks on behalf of the New Vista groundbreaking. PHOTOS BY JAMIE LAMMERS[/caption]

On Thursday, August 24, 2023, students, staff, and other interested community members gathered at New Vista High School to celebrate the groundbreaking of the brand-new building. According to an official press release, Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) voters approved a $350 million bond issue in November 2022, “which will provide implements to school buildings across the district – including replacing the aging New Vista building.”

The original building was constructed in 1952 as Baseline Junior High School, and New Vista (founded in 1993) officially moved into the building in 2003. In 2019, a facility assessment determined that the building was approaching the end of its useful life, and in 2020, the New Vista Working Group recommended the building be replaced. “In January 2021, the BVSD Board of Education endorsed the recommendation,” and in November 2022, the new building was included on the ballot.

John McCluskey welcomed various staff and students to speak at the groundbreaking of the new building, including BVSD Board of Education President Kathy Gebhardt, BVSD American Indian Youth Leadership Institute founder Patrita “Ime” Salazar, and New Vista teacher Alex Robertson. Other speakers included BVSD Superintendent Dr. Rob Anderson, Maz Finch, Mariela Maneiro-Goodwin, and Kiffany Lychock. These speakers ultimately put on hard hats and vests at the end of their speeches and assisted in the groundbreaking of the new building.

McCluskey celebrated the school as “a haven of creativity, a sanctuary of exploration, and a harbor of possibilities,” founded on the idea that learning doesn’t just take place within the walls of a classroom, but rather is a lifelong journey. He welcomed people including BVSD Board members Kitty Sargent and Nicole Rajpal, Boulder County Commissioner Marta Loachamin, and Director of Community Affairs for Congressman Joe Neguse, Emma Marion.

McCluskey also thanked people from MOA Architecture and Adolfson and Peterson for helping to bring the project to life, BVSD Project Manager Gene Temonson for overseeing the project, and Susan Cousins with BVSD Communications for allowing the groundbreaking to happen. In the end, he thanked “everyone who has believed in this endeavor, who has lent their support, and who envisions a world where education knows no bounds.”