Indio High Schools Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony

Fifty-five years after it was first built, Indio High School is officially getting a brand new state-of-the art campus.

City officials, along with staff and students, held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday morning, where part of the old campus used to stand. Construction for the brand new $82 million campus is scheduled to begin next month.

“This is in the long time coming. We knew it was going to happen, it was only a matter of time,” Indio High School principal Rudy Ramirez said.

The renovation will involve the complete demolition of the old high school, then a complete rebuild from the ground up. Money from Measure K, a utilities tax in Indio, is what is being used to fund the major project.

Replacing the existing buildings will be the new administration building, a state-of-the-art performing arts center, and a two-story business and science building.

“It’s an incredible design, it’s not a cookie-cutter school. It has a lot of color in it, a lot of innovative ideas,” Ramirez said.

Carla Figueroa, a senior and president of the Association of the Student Body, told CBS Local 2 she was excited for the changes to come, but disappointed she’s graduating before she could see the final construction.

“I’m a little jealous honestly. I wanted to be here for all that, but I plan on coming back,” Figueroa said.

Construction of the new campus is expected to take some time. It’s scheduled to be completed in 2017, but both staff and students said it is worth the wait.

“I think just give it a better name, and more people will want to come here,” Figueroa said.