Sophomore Jenna Perry had walked Bingham High halls before being a student at the school. Her sister is a graduate.

“It was dark, but now I like how spacious it is, how much bigger and brighter it is with wider hallways and skylights,” she said. “We don’t get jostled or bumped into as much.”

About five years after the May 16, 2019 pipe-breaking ceremony, construction at the 49-year-old Bingham High school building is nearing completion — on time despite interruptions caused by supply-chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

At the kick-off, it was estimated the $31 million in renovations would extend the life of the school for at least 20 years, less expensive than building a new high school, district officials said.

“It’s been long overdue and we’re grateful that the (Jordan) Board of Education walked through the building and could see the need for the renovation,” said former Bingham High Principal Christen Richards-Khong in 2019, before she took a position in the district office. “Throughout the building, we’ve had pipes burst and spray all over classrooms, equipment and materials. Cuffs have been placed on the pipes, but then they break in another place or in the hall and it just creates havoc.”

The renovations were done in five phases, mostly in the summer to minimize disruptions to students. It began with providing the science and math areas with new water lines, LED lighting, new data lines, heating and air conditioning upgrades and new carpet. That upgrade process continued in other areas. 

There was a complete renovation and expansion of the music room, updates to the auditorium and the small theatre, fondly named the Copper Pit. There were upgrades to the entire upstairs, the vocational area, the art rooms, counseling offices and media center. The school office moved closer to the front doors, an elevator was added to be compliant with ADA regulations and the roof was replaced.

The last phase was everything from the cafeteria area to the east, which included the gym, weight and dance rooms, locker rooms — and the list goes on.

Now, the construction is down to the last items on the checklist, said Principal Rodney Shaw, who has worked with the team to ensure the renovations are in the students’ best interest and have minimal disruptions to the 2,400 students’ education.

“There are still some things they have to do this summer that were delayed because of COVID and budget constraints,” he said. “They’re going to switch out rooftop air conditioning units, because those were ridiculously backordered. Some of the big electrical panels will be switched because they didn’t have those available and were backordered almost a year and a half. The whole school is going to be rekeyed for security. Nothing that will impact the inside of the building or schooling. We only had to start the year remotely once and that was three years ago. There were so many classrooms in that one phase, we had to give crews a couple weeks to finish it.”

Before crews leave, Shaw will go over a “small punch list” to fix, such as some ceiling tiles that are broken in the PE storage room and touch-ups in other areas.

“It’s like when you buy a house before you go to the title company to sign the papers and assume the loan, you walk through with the builder and the inspector and say, ‘the baseboard’s coming off the wall, you need to fix that,’ and ‘this light switch is missing a screw.’ It’s stuff like that. The teachers have sent us things that aren’t right in their rooms, so we want to make sure everything is right and that it’s all working. I can see the end in sight; we’re to a point now to where it’s small stuff,” he said.

Trophies — athletic and academic region and state championships — will be dusted and put in their new display cases as well as memorabilia dating back 116 years when the first Bingham High began with 12 freshmen as a branch of Jordan High School in the old town of Bingham. 

Construction isn’t new to Bingham students. This South Jordan school opened its doors to 1,250 Bingham students in 1975 while crews continued to carpet, paint and put in the gym floor.

“There’s a fine line between tradition and habit,” Shaw said. “You have to evaluate things and if it’s a habit, you probably ought to reevaluate; if it’s a tradition, you maintain. We focus on tradition at Bingham, and I honor and respect its history and its traditions. It’s part of who I am. What I love so much about being the principal of a legacy high school is the endearing memories, not the color of the brackets or the walls. It’s memories of how this place impacted me as a teenager and my friends and how much we all love this school.”

With the renovations, there are some unique features to the building which are appreciated, he said.

“In phase four, they built a building within a building so the counseling center and the tech atrium and all the upstairs offices, they’re part of a freestanding building. It’s not tied into the high school structure; it has its own seismic stuff,” Shaw said, adding it was less expensive to build it that way. “I love the cafeteria and how bright it is and how inviting it is. There’s a different feel for when the kids gather in midday to decompress. I’m happy with the upgrades in the athletic area since they’re a big part of high school life. I made it a priority when I got here to increase technology, so those resources now are available. We’re one-to-one with Chromebooks, there are upgrades in the audio systems, we all have laptops and high-definition TVs. Five years ago, the teachers were still using VCRs.”

Security has been upgraded with double secure doors, secure passes, additional cameras and other state-of-the-art safety features, he said.

Already, the Bingham Alumni Association is anxious to have an open house and there may be a rededication ceremony or ribbon-cutting, but it is a Jordan Board of Education decision, and no date has been set, he added.

“It still feels like the old Bingham, but there is a new feel to the school. There’s a brightness to the school and with the glass, it’s more open. That has changed the environment quite a bit because before, it was old brown, dingy brick, and it was dark with fluorescent lighting. It felt cavernous and cold. Kids learn better in brighter environments that’s clean and new. We’ve remodeled and we’ve refurbished almost the entire building with new classroom furniture. The kids were sitting in the same seats I sat in 1988 that were literally 40-year-old desks. We also updated the technology so it can be able to handle today’s world. It’s pretty much a new school, but with the same footprint,” Shaw said. “There’s a lot for us to be proud about and take pride in, in what’s going on and how the building looks now.”    λ