The first public school in
North Platte was a log schoolhouse located at the corner of 5th and Dewey streets. Built in 1868 using private funds and made of "red cedar logs which were obtained in the canyons south of the river," it opened on November 30, 1868, with less than twelve students. That number grew to around 80 by 1870, and despite an addition finished that year, the building became inadequate. Work began on a new building in 1873. The log school was sold at auction in 1874 for $611. The building was damaged by an
earthquake less than a year after its completion and, despite repairs, was declared unsafe in 1899. It contained an
auditorium, seven
classrooms, and five recitation rooms. By 1920, North Platte's student population had grown to 1,685, and the building became crowded. A number of the city's ward schools (schools for lower grades) were first constructed during its lifetime to accommodate increasing demand (most have since been completely rebuilt). at what was then the western edge of North Platte. Eventually known as the Little Theater, it originally contained both bleachers and wooden seats, together providing a capacity for 1,100 people. called for the construction of a new junior high on the same site as the senior high school. In 1963, an addition on the west end the senior high school was built as part of a $2 million bond. The addition opened in time for the 1963-64 school year and contained new rooms for
science,
vocal music, and
art, as well as new
gymnasiums for
physical education,
wrestling, and
gymnastics, an
auto mechanics shop, a wood shop, a new
library, and a
cafeteria with seating for 300. In the 1970s, a need was recognized to expand, replace, and modernize many of the city's schools. A 166-page report by the
University of Northern Colorado's Educational Planning Service about current conditions throughout the school district noted that, in regards to the high school, with both the senior and junior high schools on the same 28-acre site, it was "severely congested." The report also found that many of the senior high schools' classrooms were too small and that the building itself was overcrowded. In 1975, the Citizens Advisory Committee distributed
Look and See, a small brochure which highlighted safety and efficacy concerns at a number of school buildings and urged voters to support an upcoming bond issue to deal with them. The $9.99 million bond was approved by 60% of those voting on October 21, 1975. Part of the measure called for the construction of a new junior high school on another site (now known as Adams Middle School) and the subsequent connection of the 1930 and 1963 sections of North Platte High School with Adams Junior High, creating a larger senior high school. The group considered both the
renovation of the existing building and a new construction project and found that "the total costs of the solutions involving renovation were substantially similar to the cost of constructing a new building on the same site." The group's report noted that the
total cost of ownership would be lower for new construction and that renovation did not resolve all the concerns it had found. As a result, the group recommended the construction of a new facility on the same site. Community members
broke ground for the new building on April 7, 2001, and the project was completed in the fall of 2003 at an approximate cost of $29 million. The 270,000-square-foot building has a capacity of 1,600 students (expandable to 2,000 with additions) and features an energy-efficient
ground source heat pump heating and cooling system, a large common area, larger gymnasiums, classrooms, and cafeteria, a 1,200-seat performing arts auditorium, a
media center, and modern
computer,
camera, life safety, and security systems. == Athletics ==