A dream almost two decades in the making came to fruition Friday as the Lewiston School District held ribbon-cutting ceremonies for its new high school and career technical education center.

Hundreds of people came to the new campus in the Lewiston Orchards to celebrate the long journey that included three failed bond campaigns before 75 percent of voters finally decided to say yes to the buildings in 2017.

School Board President Brad Rice said none of it would be possible without the generous support of the community, the hundreds of people who worked on the successful bond campaign and the many people who laid the groundwork for the new educational buildings.

“The new Lewiston High School and the A. Neil DeAtley Career Technical Center is just a wonderful testament to the power of possibilities when we stand united as a community,” Rice said. “You rose to the occasion and you showed a willingness to make a sacrifice for the future of our kids and our families.”

Idaho Gov. Brad Little spoke at the events, saying the district’s new facilities, situated by Lewis-Clark State College’s under-construction Schweitzer Career and Technical Education Center, is a model he hopes to see replicated throughout Idaho and across the nation.

The field the buildings sit on once grew grain, but Little said the property has grown into something that will now provide opportunity for children in the area.

“This field of dreams will lift these kids, it will lift the families and it will lift economic opportunity in the future of Lewiston,” Little said. “We will continue to celebrate new industries whether they be new or whether they be existing ones that continue to modernize and expand. Right here will be the engine that drives them.”

Superintendent Bob Donaldson said it all started in 2004 when the district, the city of Lewiston and Lewis-Clark State College purchased the property the schools now sit on from the Nichols family. After several failed bond attempts — in 2004, 2010 and 2011 — the school board passed a resolution in 2013 embracing the idea that a comprehensive ninth through 12th grade high school was needed.

“We said the career technical facility is going to be our keystone, the most important piece of our efforts,” Donaldson said. “We said we were going to keep this work in our community for the construction and we did that as well.”

In 2016, the school board approved a $59.8 million bond that was placed on the ballot. That effort was ultimately successful when it was approved by voters in 2017.

The district’s 39,000-square-foot A. Neil DeAtley Career Technical Center is located just north of the new 204,000-square-foot high school. It houses nine career technical education programs.

Assistant Superintendent Lance Hansen said it will provide opportunities for students who may decide not to pursue higher education by providing employability skills in high-demand jobs in the region. He encouraged students to take advantage of the programs that are offered.

Hansen also thanked Brien, Shelly and Patricia DeAtley, who donated $2 million to the district, and secured the building’s namesake in honor of A. Neil DeAtley, who died in 2017.

“In life, you plant a tree that you don’t have the opportunity to sit under,” Hansen said. “That’s what the DeAtley family did. Our children are those who receive the benefit of that tree we planted as a community.”

The proximity of the buildings to LCSC’s career and technical education center will create a “chemistry,” Little said, that will help fill the demand of industries seeking to hire people with hands-on, technical skills.

Following the events, community members were able to tour both buildings. The tours will continue today from 9 a.m. to noon.

Donaldson was happy with how the events turned out.

“This day couldn’t have meant more to me,” Donaldson said. “It’s been a long haul and a great ride.”

Donaldson recently asked the contractors how much the project would cost if it went out to bid today.

“They said probably around $75 million, so I think you are going to see that we got a real quality bargain,” Donaldson told the crowd.

Tomtas may be contacted at jtomtas@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2294. Follow her on Twitter @jtomtas.