New High School

Help us write the next chapter for the current high school campus. In November 2019, the community voted to build a new high school and to allocate $8M toward repurposing the current high school campus for school district and/or community needs. We need your help to decide how the current Owatonna High School property will be used and supported by our community members. Engage Owatonna offers a platform for us to call for ideas.

We will collect your ideas, prioritize, and eventually provide information to a newly commissioned community member task force that will be established in the Fall of 2021.

Share your ideas

Owatonna Public Schools hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the new high school on Thursday, May 6. The event included remarks by Superintendent Jeff Elstad, School Board Chair Mark Sebring, High School Principal Kory Kath, and Owatonna Education Association President and teacher Todd Andrix. Many community partners, staff, students and planning committee members were present to participate in a shovel ceremony.

Participating community partners included representatives from the local business that expressed their commitment to Owatonna and the need to attract and retain quality employees through their combined financial gifts of $22 million plus in-kind donations. The tax impact for the Owatonna community was reduced by 20% thanks to the generosity of business donations from Federated Insurance, Mayo Clinic Health System, Viracon, Wenger Corporation, Wenger Foundation, and Gopher Sport.

After the community approved the construction of a new high school, other organizations stepped forward offering support. The ISD 761 Foundation and Owatonna Foundation each donated $250,000 to Owatonna Public Schools to construct a large community room within the new high school. And Cybex / Life Fitness has offered support for the weight and fitness room.

Staff and students of Owatonna Public Schools continue to be grateful for the community’s partnership and support for the school district and the new high school facility.

Local Foundations Support Community Meeting Space at New High School

The ISD 761 Foundation and Owatonna Foundation have each donated $250,000 to the Owatonna Public Schools to construct a large community room within the new high school.

The community room will offer a 2,400 square foot meeting space that will be conveniently located near the activities entrance of the new high school with additional access to the outdoor courtyard adjacent to the stadium. The space is intended to be used for community gatherings, parent night celebrations, award ceremonies, and many other possibilities.  During the school day, the space will be set for multiple class presentations and other academic activities.

Read the full press release here.

We had over 100 applicants for the Core Planning Team and those selected include high school staff, students and community members. 

The Core Planning Team met a total of eight times from December 2019 to April 2020, including an all-day building tour of schools.  

For those not selected to be a part of the Core Planning Team, and other interested community members, additional opportunities and subcommittees were planned to gather feedback and hear input to assist during the planning process.