Market Watch
Bozeman High School: Expansion & Renovation
Posted on October 25, 2022 by Becca QuackenbushERA Landmark associates and staff Amanda Weber, Brian Tudor, Kim Spain, Carissa Paulson, Machael Eickman, Kelly Bresnahan, and Rachel Tasker toured the recently finished renovation project at the Bozeman High School. The $30 million project launched in May 2020 and was widely received and much needed for the building originally built in 1956. With over 2,000 students enrolled in grades 9th through 12th, Bozeman High has served as AA division public school educating many young Bozemanites across the valley. The renovation includes a "new auditorium, students commons, a classroom tower, refinished gym floor with new benches, and more maintenance upgrades." (KHQ) With the original main building dating back over 60 years, there were energy inefficiencies with the dated masonry, windows, and HVAC that was due for upgrading.
Up until the fall of 2020, Bozeman High was the only high school in the district. It now shares the ever-expanding growth of students with the new Gallatin High School. Even with the lightened burden of overcrowding students, the school needed reconfiguring to accommodate the growth and safety concerns of the City of Bozeman, including moving the school's main entrance north from the ever-busy Main Street to 11th Ave.
Amanda Weber "was impressed with the amount of space that the school has to work with and the relationships that they have with businesses (aka Gibson), the police department, and the community to provide ample opportunities to students. I was also impressed by the relaxed system of rules for students to be able to move around the campus and have freedom without having to sacrifice safety. They seem to have a really good system in place." Further adding to the overall tour, Rachel Tasker's biggest takeaways were, "how many options there are for students to get involved in electives and clubs. They have engineering, auto-body, robotics, band, dance, a dedicated wing to world languages, etc. One cool thing that they offer is a guitar class with high-end Gibson guitars that were donated to the high school. I also thought the remodel was very thoughtful and well done. The principal talked about how there was a design collaboration with Gallatin High School on some of the spaces such as the 750-person theatre."