Walking into Austin High School has become more of a challenge than ever. With the ball finally rolling, Austin High has officially locked off the entire east entrance, forbidding anyone from entering. The massive change led many students to scramble for class both in and outside. Even though we all knew it was coming, adapting to this inconvenience has proven exactly that, an inconvenience and perhaps harmful.
For those who do not know, the gates forcing students to wrap all the way around Austin High School are the borders for our new Fine Arts building. According to the official website, new theater, orchestra, and band spaces are replacing the old breezeway, taking the entirety of January 2026 to March of ‘27 to come to fruition.
However, the cost of this upgrade has fallen into the hands of the students from the portables and bandhall all the way to the third floor, impacting student lives significantly. Aside from having a long walk, Angel Dominguez, when interviewed, voices his frustration with being unable to fulfill his teacher’s request to arrive on time. In his own words, “ It’s a reasonable request, but I physically can’t do it due to the excess time it takes to go around the fence, added on top of coming from the third floor. “ And this isn’t just a one-time thing; Angel has to combat this problem every day, with 3 out of his 8 classes being located outside in the portables. Angel also adds that, “sometimes I have to rush to take out my supplies because I arrive late”, which can be the case for many students stuck with this unnecessary stress in their situation. “It’s so annoying, including when I have to get to my bus, feeling even more inconvenient.”
And he’s far from being alone. When interviewing Peityn Hernandez, he expands on this idea by explaining the harmful impact it has on his school career. When asked, Peityn exclaims, “As a band student headed towards the third floor, I wanted to see how long it would take to make it to my class now that the east side was blocked off, and, after leaving 5 minutes early, it took 10 minutes just to get to class. “ Peityn also examines that, “ when I can’t leave early, it can take up to 15 minutes to arrive at class, and I’m worried it’ll begin to affect my attendance.” This could potentially lead to fellow band members or students in general with the same unneeded stress of not showing up on time, carrying over to things like requiring Saturday school to make up attendance, or unfairly being stripped of final exam exemptions. In a follow up interview, Peityn made a comment on how “lucky he is to have such nice teachers that understand his position, but is still worried that they could just decide to count him absent one day.”
On the other hand, these students did not come just to criticize the school district’s attempts at giving towards Austin High; they understand that the new building is something that should be built as a step to improve Austin High, which is why, when asked, they offered a couple of potential solutions that could end the negative ideology so many students share. Angel suggested,” I would have started this project during the summer, that way no student would be hindered.” He also adds that, “With the current timeline, I’d give some of the students who have to go outside 2-3 minutes of grace so they can make it to their next class on time. Peityn agrees to this change by proposing, “They could either give leeway to students based on their schedule or add an additional 5 minutes of passing period for us, that way we get there on time.”
While the promise of a state-of-the-art Fine Arts building is an exciting chapter for Austin High’s future, the current reality for students is one of rushed footsteps and piling stress. Balancing the aspirations of new facilities with the daily reality of the student experience is the only way to ensure this project is a success, not just for students of the future, but for those living in the present.
