Students at Escalante Elementary began the new calendar year in a brand new school building on January 3, 2024. Students, parents, teachers and staff gathered at the old school house one last time on the morning of January third and continued the tradition of walking from the old school to the new school in a celebratory parade. A community ribbon cutting ceremony and open house will be held on Thursday February 15, 2024.
The old elementary school was completed in 1956 and students marched to that school in the September of that year. David L. Griffin has posted a 38-second, 8mm film recording of that march on his YouTube channel, along with other historical films from Escalante in the 1950s.
The new school has been more than 10 years in the planning. In 2013, the Garfield County School Board directed the School District to begin the saving and planning process to replace three elementary schools. Bryce Valley Elementary was completed in 2019, Panguitch Elementary in 2021, and with the opening of EES this January, the ambitious project is complete.
Over the 10 years from board approval and school opening, there have been many changes in School and district administration, but despite the changes in leadership, the project was completed under the watch of Superintendent John Dodds, Business Administrator Lane Mecham, and Principal Peter Baksis. Escalante’s and Boulder/Antimony’s School Board members Myron Cottam and Cheryl Cox were the two constant voices for student needs across the district from the beginning of the project to the final approval to build.
The current school board consists of Jared Brems (Boulder/Antimony), Myron Cottam (Escalante), April LaFevre (Bryce Valley), Curtis Barney (Panguitch), and Ralph Perkins (Panguitch). School construction started in April 2023 and occupancy was granted in December 2023. The cost for the three schools was between 35-36 million dollars.
– The Byway
Feature image caption: Students at Escalante Elementary began the new calendar year in a brand new school building on January 3, 2024. Courtesy of Ryan Ellingford.
