Doors Finally Open At New Sho-Ban High School

The dreams of several generations have come true as students on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation spent their first half day in the new Sho-Ban High School.

The idea for the $11 million project began more than 20 years ago. Fort Hall was selected from a long list of schools to receive Bureau of Indian Affairs funding for a new facility.

Families worked on its construction and students were excited about attending a real school after going to the cramped tribal administration building, Superintendent Pete Lipovac said.

Construction began in 1994 and was initially supposed to open last January. Delays moved back that date to July and the final opening happened Thursday.

The new school has a 1,500-seat gymnasium and fields for football, baseball and track. It also has enough classroom space for advanced science programs, life skills and job training, and Indian culture.

The new building will house junior high and high school students. Lipovac said enrollment jumped this fall when the school was expected to be open by September. Already classes were extremely crowded.

The superintendent said he expects the new school to draw Sho-Ban students attending Highland and Blackfoot high schools. He anticipates there will eventually be at least 400 students there.