Parents concerned about ongoing construction at Enterprise High School

ENTERPRISE, Utah — With school starting next week in southern Utah’s Washington County, some parents are worried about ongoing construction at Enterprise High School.

“I’m concerned about them walking to and from the portables that are set up, because it will be snowy,” said Heather Cram, who has four students attending the school. “I’m concerned about strangers being in our school.”

Enterprise High School also serves as a middle school and houses students from seventh through 12th grade in the rural community about 50 miles from St. George.

The school has been undergoing an extensive remodel for more than a year. It’s not expected to be completed until 2025.

“We told our parents that this would be a significant amount of time,” said Steven Dunham, director of communications for the Washington County School District. “We need them to be patient with us because this is not going to be done overnight. This is not a project we can finish in three months.”

Dunham said the significant project has run into a few unexpected problems, like supply chain issues, labor shortages, and having to install a brand new sewer line. Even so, construction is still on track to finish on time.

Cram said she grew concerned when she saw that the front of the building is completely open right as school is starting. She told KSL TV that she doesn’t know how all the construction workers will be supervised.

“There’s a lot of turnover in the construction community,” she said. “I have a lot of respect for them, my husband has worked in construction. It doesn’t mean they’re bad people, but it would just take one bad person and one student to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Dunham said it’s standard practice to remodel schools in phases while classes are still taking place and that they are taking security seriously.

“We will ensure that the building is safe while the children are in the facility and the construction is going on,” he said, “and come 2025, fingers crossed, they will have a fantastic facility.”

When the remodel is finished, the school will have new front offices, a lunchroom, a commons area, and a media center. There will also be more classrooms and security upgrades. In addition, every component inside Enterprise High is being updated to the current building code.