On November 9, 2023, Panguitch High School held an official Open House for their new addition, the Panguitch Tech Center, located on the south side of the school building. Driven by a desire to “flood the community with opportunities for higher education,” Rod Quarnberg, retired principal and former director of the center, worked strategically and persistently with Utah Tech utilizing a federal Perkins Grant and physical labor to make it come together. As a result, the center is dedicated to him and his tireless efforts to fulfill his dream of providing this opportunity for the students.
“I was fine with everything until they nicknamed it the ‘Rod Mahal’,” Rod stated, diverting attention from himself to all those who made the five-year journey such a success. “There were a lot of brick walls in here that needed to be demolished. I’m grateful for everyone who caught the vision and made this happen.”
It may not physically resemble the Taj Mahal, but according to current principal Russ Torgersen, “It looks 1,000% better. We’re glad it happened.”
It is a significant accomplishment to create such a beautiful and valuable resource in this remote area. Superintendent Dodds estimated the grant at being near $150K, noting that the district didn’t have to put up much of the cost, but labor, and that was mostly demolition, which was started in 2021. Speaking of other beautiful access centers in larger schools such as Richfield, he said, “Building a center like this in a rural or frontier school is almost impossible, so we found a unique strategy to get it here.”
Nancy Hauck, representing Utah Tech, echoed his sentiment when she stated that “Bigger districts get all these great resources.” This is the third center sponsored by Utah Tech, the other two are in Kanab and Hilldale.
Since the grant didn’t cover real property construction, the walls are movable glass walls manufactured in Alberta, Canada, by DIRTT Construction Systems. The grant also didn’t cover demolition so district employees satisfied that need. It takes creativity to make dreams come true.
Panguitch High School has been using the center since last school season with classes offered by Utah Tech, Southern Utah University and Snow College. Utah State University offers community classes in the evenings. If you are interested in learning more about class offerings, contact Gary Bennet at PHS.
– The Byway
