Hailey Nelson, a sophomore at Redmond High School, and Remi Clauson, also a sophomore at Redmond High School. 

The Redmond School Board is considering the fate of dilapidated, downtown Redmond High School. Will the district recommend investing millions of dollars into its upkeep, or consolidate student bodies at newer and larger Ridgeview High School?

Students of both schools have thoughts on the matter.

Spokesman reporters chatted with them during breaks in the Redmond and Ridgeview basketball games Feb. 21 at Redmond High. Since sports was the reason for the evening, athletics was on the mind of many in the student sections. So too was the fight between Redmond and Ridgeview students at the prior boys basketball game.

Here are answers from students about the future of Redmond and Ridgeview high schools, in their own words.

Kaylie Sullivan, Redmond High sophomore

Kaylie Sullivan, a sophomore at Redmond High, said she does not think it would be a good idea to combine the schools because sports would be more competitive and it could make it harder to develop student-teacher relationships.

“I think that our school is very old and it might be needed — to do the switch. But I feel like both schools are pretty full and combining them would just increase a lot of competition,” Sullivan said. “I don’t think it would be good in any way for sports…especially for trying out for sports. If you are not very good and don’t excel, you are probably not going to get to play.”

She said shutting down Redmond High would make Ridgeview crowded and take a way from students’ high school experiences.

“I think that it would be hard academically in some ways. If you are good in school, you will still do good in school there. It’s just the teacher-student bond that it would affect,” Sullivan said.

Faith Williams, Ridgeview High junior

Faith Williams, a junior at Ridgeview, had the opposite view when it comes to how combining the town’s two high schools would affect sports. She also said she will probably be graduated and gone by the time any merger occurs.

“Honestly, I feel like it would make sports a lot better. My personal opinion. And when they are deciding to do it, I won’t be here,” Williams said. “It would squash a lot of the crosstown rivalry beef that we all have together.”

Williams said Ridgeview is big enough to handle the student body from Redmond High. While it would be a change, she said the students will adapt.

“I feel like it would be a little crowded, yes. But I think we will all learn to work around it,” Williams said.

Merged team

Redmond/Ridgeview team finishes fifth in state cross-country skiiing

Brandon Guyton, Redmond High junior

Brandon Guyton, a junior at Redmond High, said he has been hearing about the possibility of merging the two schools, and said given how old Redmond High is, it makes a lot of sense. While he understand the need for repairs, he hopes there would be other options rather than students having to go to Ridgeview permanently.

“They say they can (fit everyone) but it is going to be super packed. Those classes are going to be super big and you aren’t going to be able to talk to your teachers,” Guyton said. “If the class is going to be that big…if you need help it’s going to take three hours for you to get help.”

Guyton said he thinks it’ll probably take a long time for anything to actually happen, but he said it would be difficult for him if it were the case today.

“I walk everywhere so that would be a very far walk and I don’t really like buses. I live like a mile away from the school, so it is not that bad of a walk from here, but getting rides to and from Ridgeview would be difficult,” Guyton said.

He also said merging the two schools could be difficult, at least in the beginning.

“I’m just being honest here. But the beef (cross-town rivalry) would definitely go over (to Ridgeview) for at least the first year or two … there would definitely be more conflict.”

Gage Hobbs, Ridgeview High sophomore

Gage Hobbs, a Ridgeview sophomore, said he thinks it would be great if the two schools were unified. Especially when it concerns sports.

“I think we would actually be able to compete with Bend schools because we would actually have the same number of students as Bend schools,” Hobbs said. “I just think there is a lot of beef going on right now, and I think that will just pass when we unite as a whole school.”

When it comes to academics he thinks it would for sure make Ridgeview more crowded, but he also said the newer high school can definitely handle the extra students.

“Ridgeview is so big, there are so many rooms I haven’t even been in. It’s like a whole half of the school I haven’t been in,” Hobbs said. “I think easily we could fit them. Just hire more staff…I think we could actually put Redmond on the map if we did it.“

Beau Swope, Redmond High sophomore

Beau Swope, a Redmond High sophomore, said merging the two student bodies would only increase the existing tension between the two schools, and he said combining the two schools would be a very difficult thing to do. For him personally, he thinks he’d get along with students at Ridgeview.

“I’m friends with quite a few kids over there, like best friends with them, so there is definitely a chance it can work, but it is going to be a rough patch at the beginning of it,” Swope said.

Swope said he also doesn’t want to see his school go away given all the good times he’s spent there.

“I have been going (to Redmond High) for years, playing basketball and all that, too. So this building … I’ve been coming to it my whole life,” Swope said. “It’s going to suck to see it fall apart slowly. But they are going to rebuild it better, so that is good. I definitely hope they rebuild it … I don’t want kids going to Ridgeview for their whole lives. I’d rather stay here.“

Sebastian Harris, Redmond High freshman

Sebastian Harris, a freshman at Redmond High, said he’d prefer to go to Ridgeview. And the idea of studying in a tent during a Central Oregon winter doesn’t sound too fun.

“I heard they were going to renovate (Redmond High) and all of that. But they would have to close it down because of the asbestos on that side of the building,” Harris said. “I don’t want to be out in a tent in the middle of fall and winter and all that. Especially my senior year, which is my last hurrah of being a high schooler.“

He said he is not opposed to the idea of combining schools, but he personally wouldn’t want his senior year to be affected by the project.

“I don’t want to be stuck here in my classes … I want to go to Ridgeview. I don’t want to be stuck here with just the seniors. Because it limits electives choices … they have better electives, and there would be more kids there,” Harris said.

Lincoln Elmore, Ridgeview High sophomore

Lincoln Elmore, a Ridgeview sophomore, was short and concise with his thoughts on the matter.

“I kind of like it. Better sports teams. There are going to be a lot more people to meet, which would be fun. I think it is a pretty good idea,” Elmore said. “There could also be a lot more beef, because everyone is in the same spot. People might be beefing with each other. So I don’t really know about that.“

Tatum Aeschliman, Redmond High sophomore

Tatum Aeschliman, a Redmond High sophomore, said combining the two schools could be a good thing academically, but he also brought up the sports rivalry between the two schools.

“I think it would definitely be a unique situation for it to happen … especially rivals that join each other. Especially after the last basketball game, there was a little bit of a throwdown. I think it would definitely take some time to get used to, but I think it could be cool,” Aeschliman said.

He said possibly going through with it for a couple of years to see how it works first, and then possibly opening Redmond High back up again could be a good approach to the situation.

“I don’t know if I would be for it, personally, because I am big into sports and there are a lot of people on the team that I’ve butted heads with. It’s good to have that rivalry in town,” Aeschliman said.

Hailey Nelson, Redmond High sophomore

Hailey Nelson and Remi Clauson were hanging out together during the basketball game, and both students said they wouldn’t be too interested in going to Ridgeview.

“Personally, I wouldn’t really like it, especially because of that incident at that last game when we were all fighting. I feel like that would be much more common,” Nelson said. “I remember a lot of people didn’t want to open Ridgeview in the first place and thought we should just keep Redmond High, so I think it is a little crazy that they are now wanting to shut down Redmond and move everybody into Ridgeview. I’m not for it at all.“

Remi Clauson, Redmond High sophomore

Clauson agreed with her friend that it wouldn’t be a very good idea at all.

“I think it would be inconvenient because of all the people. There’s too many people,” Clauson said. “There’s no room in the student section right now. How would Ridgeview have enough room?