The school secured $65 million in state funding in 2023, but inflation, higher construction costs, and tariffs created a significant shortfall. To keep the project on track, the tribes launched additional fundraising efforts and gathered support from across the community.
Chairman Brian Mason said the $7.8 million reflects a mix of in-kind contributions, such as gravel sales and infrastructure support, along with grants, donor gifts, and proceeds from a June fundraising gala in Elko. Last year’s legislation allowing tribal contributions to be matched dollar for dollar means the new funding will effectively double to about $15.6 million.
Construction in the remote community of Owyhee has added layers of difficulty. To accommodate the large workforce, the tribes built temporary housing, a laundromat, and new infrastructure just to keep the project moving.
For Mason, the progress carries deep emotional weight. He recalled moments from years ago when he watched children getting off a school bus and realized how urgently the community needed a new facility.
“Those little kids… they didn’t know how bad they have it,” he said.
He added that seeing children finally walk into the new school will be an unforgettable moment.
But the path to approval wasn’t quick.
“It took two years to get anyone to even think about building up here because of the remoteness. And it took a while for Elko County to approve it because we were so short. And we assured them that we would be able to raise it and so far we are,” Mason said.
The new Owyhee Combined School is expected to open in late spring 2027. Mason said the tribes remain confident they will secure the remaining funds needed.
Why a new Owyhee school is needed and why delays persist
For decades, the Owyhee Combined School has struggled with serious health, safety and infrastructure issues that tribal leaders and educators say make the current building unacceptable for students.
Built in the 1950s, the aging school serves about 300 students from preschool through 12th grade and has deteriorated significantly due to its remote location and lack of adequate maintenance. Teachers and administrators have reported failing heating systems that leave classrooms too cold in winter and too hot in summer, cracked windows, exposed heating pipes that can reach dangerous temperatures, and bats living in the roof whose droppings sometimes fall into classrooms.
The building sits near State Route 225 and atop environmental contamination concerns tied to hydrocarbon plumes that tribal leaders believe are linked to unusually high cancer rates in the community, further heightening safety worries.
During the 2023 Nevada legislative session, lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 519, a significant funding measure championed by tribal leaders and state legislators, including Assemblywoman Alexis Hansen and state Sen. Ira Hansen.
That bill appropriated about $64.5 million to the Elko County School District to help build a new Owyhee Combined School and also created a new state grant account to assist rural and tribal schools with capital projects.
In August 2024, KUNR reported that even after the state allocated funding, the Owyhee school replacement was delayed because the first round of construction bids drew no offers, in part due to the challenges of building in such a remote area.
Efforts to fully fund the project hit political and legal snags when part of the 2023 funding plan required a new property tax in Elko County that the county successfully challenged in court, forcing tribal leaders and legislators to return to the Nevada Legislature in 2025 with a revised bill to ensure the remaining funding needed to complete the school could be secured.
