It’s dusty, unfinished, a work in progress and amazing all at the same time. The future Onalaska High School will soon be a source of pride for many who have anticipated its arrival. The wait is almost over.
Dr. Kenneth Fraga has the entire 142,000 square feet in his head. He spends anywhere from 15-20 hours each week either on site or planning for it. During Monday’s tour for the Enterprise, Onalaska’s superintendent was able to share each room’s designation and purpose.
Entrance will occur with the calendar flip to 2027. The school’s second semester bells ring Jan. 11, and students will need to navigate a new land.
“What we did this year, if you look at our calendar, we're doing a three-week Christmas break for the students,” Fraga said. “The staff will have two weeks, and then when January comes, that's like a professional development week for the teachers that have to move. Our high school teachers, our sixth-grade teachers, it's going to be them and my district staff, my maintenance staff, moving, getting everything set up for that week.”
A team of OISD leaders helped in decision making for options like color, tile and furniture. The school is planned well, with a long, inclined hall that spans the length of the structure, starting at the front entrance and sloping with the land’s grade.
Classrooms, of course, will have modern amenities and plenty of outlets for all things electrical. Grade levels, CTE classes and special education all have a defined area. The cafetorium holds interesting features for entertainment when students organize a show for the community. Extracurriculars like theatre arts, welding, band, choir, floral design and athletics will all enjoy an increase in space and thoughtful planning.
“We really used the committee to decide how we wanted everything to look. This campus will just be (grades) 9-12. Right now, we have 7-12 on that campus,” Fraga said, pointing to the Junior-Senior High. “It causes some logistical issues when it comes to master scheduling, and that's really the biggest headache. We'll actually have fewer grade levels here than we have over there, but we'll reshuffle our grades a little bit.
“Next year, when we open, sixth grade will come over here, and that will be a true middle school. We'll have a Pre-K-5, a 6-8, and then a 9-12. We'll look at potentially bringing fifth grade over the following year to the middle school.”
Fraga said there is not a single classroom at the current Junior-Senior High (and future middle school) that's available. Continuing to experience growth requires the addition of a teacher, yet there would currently be nowhere to put them. The new campus adds square footage, while housing two fewer grade levels. Onalaska is growing, but it is gradual. The new construction allows for years of that sort of increase.
“We are currently going to have probably about 30 more kids, 9-12, this coming year than we did last year. Last year's graduating class was in the low 60s. This year's senior class is in the upper 80s. We're starting to see that was our last small class, and now they're going to start getting bigger for us.
“I know they're not the size of The Woodlands or Conroe. But, for Onalaska, we're going to have larger and larger graduating classes, and we're excited about the things that they're doing.”
The district has gotten creative at the elementary school when packing everyone into a smaller space. Eight grade levels need the relief that January promises.
“I have diagnosticians that are in closets. No kids are in closets, but their offices are literally closets that they kind of move some stuff around and put some furniture in. They look good, but there's no room to grow over there, either. If I get a little pop in kindergarten or first grade, we're kind of just stuck. So, this will help alleviate space at most of the current campuses to continue to grow. They're going to be comfortable. As long as we can continue the moderate growth that we've been having, we'll be good.
“You go all the way back to 2001 and you see just kind of consistent growth up until really recently. It's slowed down, but it allows to continue to do that.”
The new space will also allow the district to offer more learning options for its students.
“As we continue to grow, part of that just becomes a staffing ratio thing. Really, it's looking at what our kids want to do and making sure we're able to staff those appropriately. We are in the first year of strategic planning, and so part of that, our board wants us to look at our college-career-military readiness, the program offerings.
“In the next couple months, I am sending a survey out to our students to say you can pick one thing, what is it you really want? See what they're currently in, see what they want to do, and see what's feasible. We do want to make sure they're offering kids what they want for careers that are really in demand. That's one of our goals.”
What Pogue Construction began June 2 of last year is rounding into the final stretch. Anywhere from 80-120 workers hammer, saw, and weld on the project each day. On Dec. 31, keys to the castle will be handed over.
Around 330 students are expected in class for January. For the UIL snapshot turned in at the beginning of 2026, that number was at 308. There will soon be more than enough room to house everyone – in rooms, not closets – on all three campuses.
