Summerland School holds ribbon-cutting ceremony

While community members and students gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Friday, at Summerland School, it seemed only fitting that background music for the event was supplied by a combine spilling golden kernels of corn into a semi-trailer.

The completion of the school is the culmination of a decades-long attempt to consolidate the three schools into one, including multiple feasibility studies, straw votes by community members and varying district alliances. For different reasons, the proposed school failed to move forward.

Until 2019.

The new cornfield school, located at the intersection of 513 Avenue and Summerland Road, in Antelope County, sprouted after a $34.3 million bond issue was approved by Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard school district voters that November.

Classes for the 2021-2022 school year were pushed back to Aug. 30. The late start gave extra time for construction to finalize completion and allowed all classes, pre-school through grade 12, to start the year in the same facility.

Summerland Superintendent Kyle Finke called Friday "a big day in Summerland Public School history."

Ground was broken to begin construction in spring 2020. On Aug. 23, 2021, high school students assisted moving materials from the three former sites to the new structure.

Finke said a lot of individuals worked hard to bring the building, and quality education, to fruition.

"The school's not just for those standing here today. It was built for your children and hopefully, their children as well. Because of the support of Clearwater, Ewing and Orchard communities, you've been provided with a chance for collaborative learning, work-based learning and technological learning in a safe environment that will allow you to become responsible, productive citizens and hopefully, life-long learners," Finke said.

Former superintendent Dale Martin, who retired at the end of the 2020-2021 school year, said the building was "quite a project for these communities."

Martin said, "I can remember from day one, how much work went into it ... I don't think anybody envisioned how this would end up looking, a beautiful, beautiful school."

The past superintendent said he hasn't been in the building since the end of June.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the final results," he said. "You've got quite the jewel here."

Board of education president Ed Nordby said past and present board members worked hard putting the new facility together, from surveying district patrons to meeting with constituents to explain the benefits of the project.

"Now that it's done, we have a pretty easy job sticking with the plans and programs the people who came before us had done. We continue to work hard as a board to make this dream come true and stay true," Nordby said.

From design phase to construction, the project was completed in 16 months. Steven Thiele, vice president of Hausmann Construction, the project's construction manager, said the crew "worked their tails off" to deliver the building four months before the projected December 2021 due date.

To complete the building project nearly four months ahead of schedule, especially during a global pandemic, may seem like like a miracle. Finke and construction-site employees reviewed several punch list items approximately one week before the school bell rang for the first time. Once school was in session, construction workers put finishing touches on the music rooms, stage and auxiliary gym and Finke signed off on any items requiring attention.

Following the ribbon-cutting, Summerland National Honor Society members conducted tours of the 130,000-square foot facility. Approximately 150 community members joined the 400-plus student body at the event.