Houston High School construction on track for mid-school year opening

To look at the construction, with scaffolding and trucks, big equipment and shipping containers, it doesn’t look like much, but this is the new Houston High School taking shape.

“Everything is still on schedule to open mid-year. It’s going to be great,” says Matanuska Susitna Borough School District Superintendent Dr. Randy Trani.

The site once housed the Houston Middle School, but after the 7.1 earthquake in November, 2018, damage forced the middle school to combine with the Houston High School and form the Houston Junior-Senior High School.

After much discussion and inspections, the building was ultimately condemned and subsequently demolished in December 2020. Construction of the new high school soon began.

Despite shipping delays and a longer winter than expected, construction crews are hard at work to get the school ready.

In June 2021, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly approved the construction contract to build the new school. The Mat-Su Borough also received funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help pay for construction.

The Borough has provided funding to the district for furnishings, funding, and equipment, as wells as funding to reset existing consolidated facilities. The Borough will continue to monitor for supply chain delays and any cost escalations that may arise.

The new building will not only include academic, administrative, and gymnasium wings, but also a technical career space in the 93,000 square feet building. Within the tech-career center there will be specific areas for instruction of construction trades, welding, culinary, and other vocational education. There will be 11 general classrooms with four resource classrooms and three science labs, as well as three Career and Technical Education labs

Plans are being finalized to have a community update meeting, an idea that had been brought up during a joint MSBSD-Mat Su Borough Assembly meeting back in March.

“We’re looking forward to the community meeting in order for parents and students to know what to expect,” said Borough Manager Mike Brown at the March meeting.

The estimated delivery date for the new Houston High School is December 2022, with an anticipated opening of January 2023.