“A dream come true”
Somerton High School–a project 15 years in the making–broke ground Saturday.
SOMERTON – “Who’s excited to build a school?” John Kovesdy, project manager at McCarthy Building Companies, asked the question with excitement before a sizable crowd Saturday afternoon. The occasion? Somerton High School’s groundbreaking ceremony.
The event kicked off with fanfare. San Luis High School’s band performed with gusto in their bright green suits while dancers twirled at the front.
But student participation didn’t stop there. Culinary and hospitality students from Cibola, Kofa and Yuma high schools prepared charcuterie boxes for the crowd to enjoy. Students representing career and technical student organizations were present as a reminder of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities coming to Somerton High.
And sitting at the very front of the ceremony were seventh-grade students who’ll be among the first to walk the halls of Somerton High: Olivea Segovia, David Elias, Evolhet Vonillas and Aki Felix. As current members of the student council at Somerton Middle School, they expressed great excitement for the future of the city.
Members of the community and dignitaries listened as the figures with heavy involvement in the project spoke of the long process in making Somerton High a reality. One consistent thread pointed to Yuma Union High School District Superintendent Gina Thompson as the fire behind the effort.
Arizona Senator Sine Kerr, representing the 13th legislative district, was the primary sponsor of the bill that funded $33 million for the project and shared that she was convinced by Thompson’s hard work.
Referencing a quote at
the bottom of Thompson’s email, Kerr said, “‘The only way to light other people on fire is to be lit yourself from the inside’ and that was from Tim Grover … and that’s exactly what happened.
“She was so lit, so passionate about this project and what it meant. She shared her frustrations: it was taking so long there were many obstacles in the way, but she never gave up and she just kept going and going. She laid out very clearly what the needs were and how we can get there.”
YUHSD Governing Board President Phil Townsend stated that the bill was passed and signed into law in the summer of this year thanks to Kerr’s efforts. The $33 million supplement the efforts of the Yes! Yes! Bond Campaign from 2015, which brought in $20 million, and had been approved by the voters of Yuma County.
Townsend and other speakers expressed that the high school is long overdue. While Russ Jones and Shelley Mellon, co-chairs for the Yes! Yes! Bond campaign, had been approached by then YUHSD Superintendent Toni Badone in 2015, Somerton City Manager Jerry Cabrera shared that the efforts go as far back as 15 years.
Cabrera shared with the Sun that between the effects of the 2008 crash, changes to budgets, legislative state statutes and a host of other issues to work through, it had taken a long time, but he’s excited and proud of what the voters in Yuma County have approved.
“Now that groundbreaking has started, the real work begins,” he said.
A lot of work awaits Cabrera, Kovesdy and everyone involved in the construction of the school that’s expected to be completed in Summer 2023, but Planning Principal Lucky Arvizo and President Townsend have full confidence that the school will be the center and pride of the community.
At the ceremony, Somerton Vice Mayor Juan Castillo noted there is much to look forward to: “What a great day for our beloved city of Somerton. Our residents have long awaited this very moment … Our students will finally have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities without the many challenges our Somerton families faced in the past. You know, there’s a lot of talent here and I can’t wait for our student athletes to bring home a championship.”
“Whatever goes forward, it’s for the students,” concluded Thompson.
As Somerton High School continues to build with the help of the partnerships between YUHSD, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., Arcadis Engineering Company and DLR Group, Somerton’s students can expect a great deal on their scholastic horizon.