Platte Canyon High School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Platte Canyon High School, located in Bailey Colorado, functions as the community's educational center. It was founded in 1957 and has since been modified. The building, located on Highway 285, is actually a combination of the high school, the middle school, and the district office.

1 Recent remodeling
2 Inflated education
3 2006 hostage situation
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Recent remodeling

Platte Canyon School originally housed all grades K through 12 in a one story long building. Grade school students were in one half of the building, while Jr. High and High School students were in the other half. Entry was in the middle with school offices located inside the front door, and the original gym located straight back.

During the 1965/66 years, a small new 2 story building was constructed. Some of the new classes offered were Home Ec and Shop. The kitchen and lunchroom were also located in the new building.

Remodeling and construction took place several years ago. This construction led to the annexation of the middle and high schools into a larger building commonly known as the West Building. The former high school became the East Building, now functioning primarily as the district office. The East Building also contains two high school gyms, the auditorium, the swimming pool, and the old track field.

A newer track and football field were created with the new school. This field is actually on the opposite side of Highway 285. Access into the field is gained by way of an old railroad bridge spanning the highway. A new baseball field was also planned, but lack of funds and a decreasing enrollment rate have placed those plans on hold.

Student population per grade climbed to a peak of about 120 students per class before beginning an eventual decline during the construction of the new school building. Because of this decrease in students, nearly a fourth of all new classrooms are left empty.

[edit] Inflated education

Due to a lack of any sufficient funds, the school has recently begun a search to find new means of money. For instance, student parking was free to all in 2001, but by the school year of 2004 a new fee of $50 per year had been implemented. To participate in an after school activity in 2001, a student was expected to pay $85 whereas the same activities were $35 in 2003.

Although the school is public, students wishing to enroll at Platte Canyon High must first purchase an "Activities Card" for $35. A new card must be purchased at the beginning of each school year. Despite the fact that the card literally does nothing for the student and is best discarded after purchase, failure to buy the card at the beginning of each school year leads to the school's refusal to issue a student a report card at the end of each term.

Even the modest pricing of school lunch has climbed throughout the last few years. The cost of a pint of milk jumped from twenty-five cents to thirty-five cents within a short timespan while the overall cost of an average lunch is $2 and rising as of 2004.

Over time, the school's lack of funds have spawned the dissolution of several classes and clubs, including Home Ec, Wood Shop, German, Drafting, and Boys Swimming. The Art and Music programs are both surrounded with speculation of whether or not they will see another year. The Music program specifically may meet the same fate that the middle school's music program did in 2004, but it was then reestablished in the 2005-2006 school year.

The Marge E. Hudak Pool, located in the school's East Building, has been another part of the school in constant jeopardy. The facility remains in limbo on a year-to-year basis due to insufficient funds.

[edit] 2006 hostage situation

Main article: Platte Canyon High School shooting

On September 27, 2006, a "hostage situation" was reported at 11:40 AM local time (1740 UTC) at the high school. Duane R. Morrison, 53, of Denver,^[1], reportedly said that he had a bomb. He had taken six students as hostages in a second-floor room and released four of them while keeping the other two, all female.^[2]^[3] Once SWAT members approached, one of the female hostages, identified as 16 year old Emily Keyes, was shot, wounded critically, and was taken away by a helicopter, where she later died of her injuries.^[4] The hostage-taker then shot and killed himself. The other female was not wounded. Later accounts have said that he may have sexually assaulted some of them, and that the crime could be sexually motivated. Later on it was proven that it wasn't a sexually related crime, but a move to commit scuicide. ^[5]