The money for the expansion comes from a donation by Dave and Cheryl Duffield and their foundation. The addition will bring new spaces to IHS as well as replace inadequate facilities.
Jim Dugdale, executive director of the Dave and Cheryl Duffield, highlighted the improvements and what they mean for students.
“First of all, it’s going to give them much more area. It’s going to give them updated facilities. There will be many things,” Dugdale said. “There will be a student hub. There will be a culinary kitchen. There will be some additional classrooms.”
A major aim is to give students and teachers more collaborative spaces in that student hub. Dugdale also called culinary studies a burgeoning area of interest. Currently, the nearest culinary learning option is at the Academy of Arts, Careers, and Technology in Reno, over 45 minutes away.
Also included in the expansion are new JROTC facilities, remodeled administrative offices, and security upgrades. Local construction company Plenium Builders will work on the expansion and their contract with the district sets a completion deadline of June 1, 2025.
The Duffields also donated funds for the construction of the new theater at IHS that was completed in 2021.
The expansion is separate from the ongoing facilities modernization plan adoption. Through that process, the district has included an option to close Incline Middle School and move 7th and 8th graders to the high school in the face of continued declining enrollment projections.
Jose Davila IV is a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project.