Howell High School (Howell, Michigan)
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Howell High School is a public high school (grades 10-12) serving the city of Howell in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Howell Public Schools district. As of 2005 the enrollment of the school is approximately 2,800 students, including approximately 600 ninth graders that attend the adjacent Howell High School Freshman Campus.
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[edit] General Information
- The school mascot is the Highlander.
- The school colors are Green and Gold.
- The current principal of the school is Bill Smith
[edit] Background
The current 360,000 sq. ft. high school was designed by respected school architect Richard Prince and was completed in August, 1981 at a cost of $26 million, making it the most expensive high school built in the state at the time. Built for a capacity of 1,733 students, it did not take long for the building to reach capacity. Growing pains at Howell High School were problematic in the early-1990s prompting the placement of up to 16 portable classrooms by 2003. In September, 2003, voters approved a nearly $100 million bond issue to erect a second high school (William Parker High School) and fund extensive renovations and expansions at the existing high school. Renovations are projected to take place for 24 months beginning in 2007. All students will be moved to Parker High School for the year of 2008, which will drastically cut cost in renovation of the current high school.
[edit] History
- 1925: New Howell High School opens on the site of the current US Post Office on Michigan Avenue in Howell.
- 1965: New Howell High School completed in what is currently the Freshman Campus. The Freshman Campus was McPherson Middle School between 1981 and 2002, and will return to use as McPherson Middle School in 2007. The former high school on Michigan Avenue becomes "Michigan Avenue Middle School".
- 1978: (Fall) Construction begins on a new 330,000 sq. ft. building, expanding the campus. Engineers discover issues with soft ground and are temporarily set back.
- 1981: New 330,000 sq. ft. ultra-modern campus opens at 1200 W. Grand River Ave. The new building's motto was "We're all in this together", citing the fact that with the new space, it was the first time in 5 years that all four high school grade levels were taught simultaneously in the same building. Prior to 1981, the former high school ran on split shifts with upperclassmen reporting in the morning and underclassmen reporting in the evening. The auditorium is not quite ready for use and is not dedicated until early-1982. The former high school becomes McPherson Middle School and Michigan Avenue Middle School is demolished to make room for a new US Post Office.
- 1993: October 1st Howell Area Aquatic Center opens at Howell High School.
- 1996: 10,000 sq. ft. cafeteria expansion/renovation completed.
- 2000: 5,000 sq. ft. cafeteria expansion (solarium) completed, 4 portable classroom units are placed on the South lawn to ease overcrowding.
- 2001: 4 more portable classroom units are placed between the cafeteria and Field House building.
- 2002: (May 8th) An arson fire closes the school for nearly a week with nearly $1 million in damage resulting from five fires set throughout the second floor of the building. Fire sprinklers malfunctioned and ran overnight causing extensive water damage to classrooms below the fire floor. Disgruntled student Sean McEvoy was charged in the fires. The most extensively damaged areas (the library and main office) remain closed over the summer for repairs.
- 2003: Ninth graders move out of the main building into their own Freshman Campus, the building formerly occupied by McPherson Middle School, made available by the opening of the new Three Fires Middle School in Genoa Township. Since 2003, Howell High School has been split among these two buildings, which have separate principals but share many class offerings and athletic opportunities. The Freshman Campus will become McPherson Middle School once more when the high school construction concludes in 2009 (new Parker High School, renovated Howell High School).
- 2005: A rededicated Memorial Stadium opens up with millions of dollars in renovations, thanks to a nearly $100 million 2003 bond issue. Extensive renovations will take place at Howell High School over the next five years.
- 2005: Students from Howell High's Diversity Club hung a rainbow colored flag at the top of the school's main stairway to show that the school is accepting of diversity. The flag was hung the day after Amendment 2 (one man, one woman marriage) was passed in Michigan. Some believe the flag was hung to protest the November passage of the Amendment. However, the Club stands by their statement that the flag is inclusive, and meant to support all races, nationalities, sexual orientation, etc. Despite their statement, controversy struck the school. Two groups of students and supporters formed. One side held that the flag represented diversity to be all-inclusive, the other saw the flag as a divisional attack on their deeply held religious beliefs, and asked that the flag be changed to something else more inclusive. After seeing the phrase "God Hates Fags" spray painted on the school's spirit rock, four students - three seniors and one sophomore at the time - spraypainted the word "LOVE" on all of HHS' sidewalks, and benches. The three seniors were suspended indefinitely resulting in them not participating in normal graduation ceremonies. The sophomore received a ten day suspension. Upon hearing of their suspension, hundreds of HHS students staged a mass protest outside the school. The school year ended with separate graduation ceremonies for each group.
- Summer 2005: The controversy continued and grew. A group of parents organized a discussion group, called "LOVE", or Livingston Organization for Values in Education", and asked the Board of Education to find another symbol to represent diversity. After the Board refused, the LOVE group offered copies of the motto "In God We Trust", as an effort to allow children holding "traditional family values" to be made to feel welcome. Again, the Board refused, citing separation of church and state as their reason.
- 2006: The issue of making all students, including those holding "traditional values" feel welcome, was further exasperated, when the local paper, the Livingston County Press & Argus declared that "Values" will play a major role in the next school board election, and that the parents group had formed a political action committee. The next day another political action committee, the "Concerned Taxpayers Group" announced the formation of a PAC, citing the school's discussion of not having enough money to open the newly contructed Parker High School, planned for the fall of 2007.
