Independence High School breaks ground on new building

RIO RANCHO — A mound of dirt off of Northern Boulevard will soon become something sweet and special, Rio Rancho Public School Board of Education President Amanda Galbraith told attendees Thursday at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Independence High School building.

The alternative school serving grades 10-12 will move from its current location off of Quantum Road to the new location just five minutes away in summer or fall 2027.

“What it is about to become is something ... for our community and for those students,” Galbraith said. “Sometimes it’s a second chance and it’s just what they need to get through this part of their life.”

Following those remarks, Galbraith and other dignitaries, including IHS Principal Jessica Sanchez, donned hard hats and moved dirt with customized shovels to mark the start of construction on the new facility. The groundbreaking came 25 years after IHS opened its doors and just weeks after the school held its May graduation ceremony.

“Today’s groundbreaking is about more than just construction — it’s a powerful symbol of our unwavering commitment to these kids,” Sanchez said in her prepared remarks. “It stands as a promise — a promise that every student, no matter their path, deserves a space that lifts them up and helps them move forward.”

She described IHS as more than just a school.

“It’s been a second chance, a fresh start — and for countless students, a beacon of hope,” Sanchez said.

The $26 million facility, paid for by a voter-approved bond, will be approximately 50,000 square feet, replacing the 28,000-square-foot one that IHS has occupied since 2007.

The state-of-the-art facility will include more instructional space, a never-before auditorium, a bigger cafeteria, a center courtyard and classroom walls. The wall-less classrooms IHS currently uses, reminiscent of an instructional model from decades ago, owe partially to the fact that the current facility previously was a call center, Sanchez said in an interview.

“Walls alone, I think people take for granted,” Sanchez told the Observer. “That’s going to be exciting.”

The building will allow IHS to increase its student capacity of 175 students to more than 200, she said.

As of Thursday, students had not been shown the plans for the building, which is why Sanchez grabbed two large poster boards highlighting floorplans that were displayed at the groundbreaking ceremony.

“It’s going to show (students) this community cares about them and they’re investing in them,” Sanchez said. “I think that’s the real message those floorplans are going to send.”