Since June 2023, El Paso High School has embarked on two main renovation projects, aiming to enhance the school’s infrastructure and facilities.
Yet, as the school landscape transforms with the presence of scaffolding, Conex boxes, and other construction equipment, an overarching question persists: Where do students and staff park their cars?
“The first thing I want to do is provide transparency and communication to the students and the parents that are currently here,” El Paso High Principal, Dr. Sandra Rocha said. “We’ve been looking for other options for parking, but because of our location, we’re so landlocked that it’s difficult to expand.”
Despite having a smaller parking lot in comparison to other high schools, its challenging size is exacerbated by the closure of some parking spots for the construction team.
Twenty parking spots are occupied by construction vehicles and the team’s work trailer in the larger lot. Additionally, the parking space near the Schuster avenue entrance, is closed for 30 weeks to make sure all construction materials are readily available for roof renovations.
These construction initiatives are working towards renovating and restoring various aspects of the campus, including its exterior facade, its roof, and the air conditioning systems of both gyms.
Throughout this process, the school has remained loyal to the guidelines set by the El Paso Historical Society, ensuring the preservation of the iconic architecture for generations to come.
“What our roofers are doing is they’re delivering enough material that they need there on Schuster for that week, and then they’ve got the area over in the parking lot by the portables to pull from for additional material,” Allan Asher, project manager for Spartan Construction, said.
He added that the lots will be fenced off for the duration of the project which is estimated to continue until 2025.
“The fenced-off area near the portables is what we call our staging area,” Asher said. “The staging area allows the construction team to have a place to keep Conex boxes, those big containers, which our plumbers, electricians, and masons use to store their tools and equipment for their daily needs.”
Though construction equipment limits space for new parking spots, Dr. Rocha has considered possible solutions.
“There is land available in front of the portables and far left near the sectioned-off construction space,” she said. “Maybe pushing that but that would only add, you know, maybe 30 more spots. Quite frankly, the school and district do not have the money to remove all that dirt that could create just a few more spots.”
Despite the ongoing challenges, students and staff remain dissatisfied with the parking situation.
“One time, there was an accident on the freeway, and that put me behind the usual time that I get to school and I couldn’t find parking,” English teacher Ms. Ingrid De Alba said. “I had to park by the houses, that put me behind.”
Senior Clayton Harmonson, said that the construction projects have hindered his ability to arrive at school on time.
“I think it’s hypocritical of the admin to be so stringent with us getting here on time and then also limit our parking capability,” he said.
The renovations have been taking a toll on student life; according to Clayton, saying it is apparent the school administration has little consideration for its students.
“They just show up and start doing renovations without alerting any students or making any kind of notice,” he said. “There’s just no transparency.”
The quest for parking space is an uphill battle for students and administration. Admin aims to finish the construction job as soon as possible, however, preserving an effective learning environment surrounded by the buzzing noise of builders is a difficult feat.
“When this construction plan came into play, I wanted to maintain a balance between keeping the project moving and again, ensuring that students can learn,” Dr. Rocha said. “There’s been times where it’s been so loud…we had to call and tell them to stop…but again, when we stop, what does that do? It delays the timeline.”
Though delays may halt the project, communication between the construction team and administration is key to minimizing disruptions for students on campus, according to Asher.
“Anytime you have construction, specifically a renovation and a building that has to remain occupied during construction, there are going to be challenges and potential disruptions,” Mr. Asher said. “When we’ve got a noise-producing activity, we try and give enough notice in advance to coordinate with the school…we try and avoid those disruptive activities and do it in hours that won’t affect the students.”
The balancing act of progressing construction and ensuring minimal learning disruptions isn’t the only issue clashing with the timeline; the displacement of fourth-floor teachers into portables due to previous Asbestos abatement takes even more parking space from students and faculty.
“Two more portables were added because we’re hoping to move two more teachers out,” Dr. Rocha said. “Those two portables did take up about another 10 spots and 15 spots.”
There are currently 4 displaced teachers in portables taking up space in the parking lot, however, according to Dr. Rocha, the faster teachers move out from their classrooms the faster construction will finish up on the 4th floor, allowing teachers to move back in.
Dr. Rocha added that both projects are a necessity. The project aims to put down new roofing, which will take the water from the roof down to street level, to replace damaged or structurally failing terracotta, to upgrade the exterior facade of the building, and to install new HVAC ACs in both gyms.
Before the construction of the main building, rainy days often brought about significant flooding issues. These projects aim to address and resolve these drainage problems.
“It’s not just an issue of ensuring that we maintain the building as the architects from 1916 designed it, but also keeping this building learning ready and leak-free, that kind of thing,” Dr. Rocha said.
El Paso High, founded in 1916, is nearly 108 years old. Preserving its original architecture is a top priority, with the school working closely with historical consultants to ensure its appearance is protected.
According to Mr.Asher, the renovation team is going through the construction job via submittals and mock-ups. To ensure compliance with overall historic efforts on the project, these submittals and mock-ups have to be approved by not only the project architect and the owner of the building, but also a historical consultant.
“Before we were allowed to move forward with this construction, it all had to go through the Historical Society,” says Dr. Rocha. “We had to ensure that we were doing everything according to the society’s guidelines.”
These historic preservation projects have contributed to the continued operation of El Paso High School for over a century. As students seek a resolution for the parking issues, the administration continues to fight for solutions.
“I’m always searching for answers,” Dr. Rocha said.
