Ground is Broken on New Moorhead High School

(Moorhead, MN) -- The wait for the next major step in the development of a crown jewel in Moorhead is over.

Wednesday morning, surrounded by dozens of community members, students, school board members and more, school officials officially broke ground on the new Moorhead High School.

"This new, innovative learning encompasses all students and programs at both Moorhead High and Moorhead High Career Academy," said Moorhead Schools Superintendent Brandon Lunak. "We are one school with two campuses and a common 9-12 experience."

The new building is set to massive. It'll take up over 428,820 square feet, split amongst core academic, performing arts and athletic facilities. The building will be able to hold over 2,100 students, and will also include things like a 3,000-seat Gym, 1,000 seat theater and a Pool with 300 seats.

"We believe high school should be relevant and personalized," said Moorhead High Principals Dave Lawrence. "MHS will create and implement Small Learning Communities to increase student success and personal connection by making a large school feel smaller."

Another big change, along with different programming and teaching directions, will be natural light. Lawrence says currently, most classrooms don't have much if any sunlight inside. The new building will feature large, open spaces with windows to the outside to really bring a fresh, new feel to the school. 

"The athletic spaces look really exciting," said 9th grader Taylor Brueske. "As athletes, we tend to play better when we are confident in our spaces." 

The project now is broken up into two phases. Phase one will include Construction of the Academic Wings, Commons and New Athletic Facilities, and should be completed by 2023. Phase two, which includes demolition of the old high school and Construction of multiple Fine Arts Facilities should begin in 2023 and finish up by 2025.

The project was made possibly by a pseudo levy that was passed for funding by the community back in 2019. That motion passed with over 76% of the vote, showing the Moorhead faithful are truly behind the vision this group is attempting to achieve.