Bruce Scarth spent 34 years teaching vocal music at Sandy High School – that
is, the old Sandy High School, the one built more than 70 years ago on Bluff
Road that served generations of families from Mount Hood to Boring.

But this summer Scarth, along with the 55 other teachers at the school,
packed up their classrooms (and their various years of accumulations) for a
move of less than a mile to the new Sandy High School, 37400 SE Bell Street.
As Scarth sorted through his classroom, noting it was more of a “retirement
move” for him, it was as if opening a time capsule into the past: programs
from old concerts, sheet music with the names of students from decades past
written at the top, pictures of previous classes, unpacked boxes from a
teachers’ strike and much more.

“It gets a little crazy; I’m finding stuff from previous directors that was here
before him,” said Scarth, noting the vinyl recordings and reel-to-reel tapes
from his predecessor. “I’ve got to start throwing some stuff away.”

That could be a particularly necessary step for Scarth, since despite the fact
that the new Sandy High School is much bigger, he’s afraid the music
program will not have as much shelving and other storage space as they’ve
been able to add to the old building.

But that potential pitfall is not dampening his enthusiasm for his new work
space.

“I’m real excited about it,” Scarth said. “I’m excited to teach in a room that’s
designed for acoustics.”

Moving a school – the old building has approximately 160,000 square feet of
space – is a tricky proposition.

After the school’s teachers packed up their classrooms in boxes at the end of
last school year, the Oregon Trail School District hired Alexander’s Mobility
Services at a cost of approximately $50,000 to take everything to the new
building (including the large auto shop and manufacturing equipment). The
cost of the move is covered by the $114.9 million bond passed to construct
the new school, along with improvements at the other district schools.

According to district spokeswoman Julia Monteith, new essential furniture
(including tables, chairs and desks) for the school were covered by the bond
and were expected to arrive at the building in late July and delivered by the
suppliers (supplemental equipment such as computers are not covered by the
bond). Boxes from the old high school were expected to be moved in early
August, offering teachers the chance to unpack in the middle of August.

Monteith noted that the new school will feature mostly new furniture.

“Most of the student tables, chairs from that facility, they’ve been repaired
more times than we can count,” she said, adding that some of that furniture
will be used at the old building.

New Sandy High School Grand Opening
The Oregon Trail School District will celebrate the opening of the new Sandy
High School on Friday, Sept. 7, at the school, 37400 SE Bell Street in Sandy.

Program highlights include tours starting at 3:30 p.m., student performances,
refreshments, a formal dedication at 6 p.m. in the gymnasium and the first
home football game at 7:30 p.m. on a field featuring new turf (half-price
entrance for people who attend the dedication ceremony).