An early look at Bend’s next high school

Bend’s next high school is another step closer to becoming a reality.

The Bend-La Pine School Board received an update on the project at their meeting Tuesday evening.

The project’s still in the design process, but the school district is working toward moving dirt within a couple years.

The new high school is going to be located in southeast Bend at the corner of Knott Road and 15th Street.

The board got a virtual tour of the new school, which will be two stories and is designed to accommodate 1,600 students.

It will feature 37 classrooms, along with a life skills classroom, a 600-seat auditorium, two gyms and athletic fields.

Renee Alexander, a principal with BBT Architects, the design team putting the project together, said she is so happy with how things are coming along and is pleased to be able to give back to the community in this way.

“To have a strong vested interest beyond the business, that means a lot to us, and we take it seriously,” Alexander said. “And the process has been a lot of fun, and there has been a lot of satisfaction, I think, because of that.”

The new high school will help ease overcrowding at other Bend high schools.

According to the school district, by the year 2024, another 1,200 new students are expected to be enrolled in the district’s high schools.

That means the district and the design team are working hard to get the school completed.

Alexander said they plan to have the design phase development completed by the middle of October.

From there, they can get plans drawn up so contractors can bid on them.

The school district is hoping the new high school will be open for fall of 2021.