INGLEWOOD — Leaders from across the city attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the new $240 million Inglewood High School campus June 24.
Attendees were welcomed by the Inglewood High band as the assembled panel glowingly spoke about what the new campus would represent for the city.
“This district is the final piece of Inglewood which is now an international city,” Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. said, speaking while wearing an Inglewood High letterman’s jacket.
Butts also spoke about the City being a support system to the school district and said he is “so proud” to see the school being rebuilt as he is able to look at it daily from his office window.
In 2012, Inglewood voters passed Measure GG, a $90 million bond to revamp its schools months after being taken over by the state of California.
In 2017, the district announced a $148 million revamp of the high school, which was built in 1905. Now that is finally coming to fruition.
City Councilman Eloy Morales Jr., who represents the area where the school is located, said that voters will finally see their money being spent on the school.
“We’ve probably passed bonds here in the city of Inglewood … we passed a lot of bonds but you really couldn’t tell — there was no significant project that took place — and to have a brand new high school here across the street from City Hall and next to the art park at Grevillea Park it’s an amazing step the city is taking to improve the schools, the central high school for our city,” Morales said.
“$240 million — that’s a significant expense for a high school which starts with the leadership,” said Morales as he praised the efforts of James Morris who is the appointed county administrator overseeing Inglewood schools.
“Our students deserve the best facilities, that’s really what it boils down to,” said Assistant Superintendent Raphael Guzman. “And right now, Inglewood High School needs a real detailed renovation, and that’s what we’re doing with this.
“And we’ve got to just say, thank you to our bond voters, for Measure I. This is how we’re doing it, this is how we’re funding it.”
Measure I was an additional $240 million bond issue that was passed in 2021, funded in part by vendors who do business with City Hall and the Parent Teacher Association of Parent Elementary School.
Morris has caught some flack from the community for closing multiple school campuses, including Morningside High School, after voters passed nearly $500 million in bonds passed to fix them.
“We’ve made the tough decisions to close some schools, but it really allows us to focus resources and the money the community has invested to making sure that every school that’s open is beautiful, clean and deserving of the young people in this community,” Morris said.
The new campus will have more than 150,000 square feet of new facilities, including technology-integrated classrooms, labs, arts and performing venues, new athletic facilities and flexible learning spaces.
There also will be a bridge erected above Manchester Boulevard at Grevillea Avenue, which will allow a seamless connection between the campus and the main Inglewood Library.
The district plans on having students return to campus by December 2027.
Balfour Beatty was selected to rebuild the campus and pledged to have it delivered “on time and under budget.”
Emilie St. John is a freelance journalist covering the areas of Carson, Compton, Inglewood and Willowbrook. Send tips to her at emiliesaintjohn@gmail.com.
