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Eagan High School History
USINFO | 2014-01-08 11:22
In the 1970s and 1980s, Eagan began to grow rapidly, due to the completion of I-35E, I-494 and the new Cedar Avenue Bridge. During those years, high school students from Eagan who lived within the District 196 boundaries were attending nearby Rosemount High School and Apple Valley High School. Both of these high schools were greatly over capacity. In June 1987, Dr. Thomas F. Wilson was appointed as "Principal on Special Assignment" in charge of planning a new high school and middle school on a site that had been purchased years earlier for the purpose of a new high school in Eagan. Because the District was very cautious with the funding, it was decided to incorporate the new Dakota Hills Middle School on the same site. The $33 million building was designed by Hammel, Green and Abrahamson (HGA). HGA had been the District's architectural firm for thirty years, but the School Board later adopted a different firm after issues with the EHS/DHMS construction project.
During an era when it was revealed that the U. S. military was being charged $400 for hammers, $700 for toilet seats, and aircraft carrier costs were double the original bids, it was widely reported in the print and electronic media that there were serious "cost over runs" in the constructions costs for the school. In actuality, the school was built in four different bid phases (called fast tracking-necessary due to earlier bond issue defeats) and bids on the fourth phase, anticipated to be approximately $27 million, came in at $33 million. Because the school district simply did not have the money for that large bid, the bid was rejected. Dr. Wilson, Superintendent Dr. Red Rehwalt and Assistant Superintendent Dr. John Hanson spent several months working with HGA officials to trim elements of phase four to get its costs in line with the bond revenues available from the public approval process. This work caused a delay in the construction time line and time and spawned a lawsuit.
Before it opened, Dr. Wilson met with parents and students to chose the school's colors, nickname, logo and school song. Eventually, they chose the Wildcats as the school mascot and decided the school's colors should be Royal Blue, Kelly Green, Silver and White. School nurse Sharon Geiger led the color selection process. Dr. Wilson and Assistant Principal Dr. David Lange sought and received permission from the Kansas State University Athletic Director (fee of $1.00) to use their Wildcat logo. Assistant Principal Dr. Polly Reikowski and Speech Program Director Ms. Joni Anker developed the words for the School Song, sung to the tune of the Notre Dame Fight Song. The high school first opened in the fall of 1989-90, operating on the west side of the building (Dakota Hills Middle School) with 350 ninth grade students. These students attended school on the second floor, while sixth and seventh grade students attend on the first floor of the same middle school, fulfilling a promise to parents that students from the two schools would not be mixed together, even though they were attending school in the same building. By the opening of the 1990-1991 school year, students in grades nine through twelve completed the full opening of Eagan High School. The first class to graduate from Eagan High School was the class of 1991, with students who had attended only their senior year at EHS. Those students claimed to be the "first class at EHS", while the original ninth grade students claimed that they were the "first REAL EHS graduates." They have never resolved the differences in their claims!
The first principal was Dr. Thomas F. Wilson, who had previously been principal at Rosemount High School within the District. Dr. Wilson held the position for a total of fifteen years of the high school's existence, from 1987 to 2002. Upon his retirement in 2002, a controversial replacement, Dr. Jane Stewart, was appointed by then Superintendent, Dr. John Haro. Citing her "paucity of qualifications" and upset at her quick appointment, the entire faculty walked out of their first meeting with her. Dr. Stewart nonetheless began as principal, but early-on was involuntarily transferred to a position in the district office—spawning a lawsuit for employment discrimination. Assistant Principal for Fine Arts, Dr. Polly Reikowski was promoted to Principal.
During an era when it was revealed that the U. S. military was being charged $400 for hammers, $700 for toilet seats, and aircraft carrier costs were double the original bids, it was widely reported in the print and electronic media that there were serious "cost over runs" in the constructions costs for the school. In actuality, the school was built in four different bid phases (called fast tracking-necessary due to earlier bond issue defeats) and bids on the fourth phase, anticipated to be approximately $27 million, came in at $33 million. Because the school district simply did not have the money for that large bid, the bid was rejected. Dr. Wilson, Superintendent Dr. Red Rehwalt and Assistant Superintendent Dr. John Hanson spent several months working with HGA officials to trim elements of phase four to get its costs in line with the bond revenues available from the public approval process. This work caused a delay in the construction time line and time and spawned a lawsuit.
Before it opened, Dr. Wilson met with parents and students to chose the school's colors, nickname, logo and school song. Eventually, they chose the Wildcats as the school mascot and decided the school's colors should be Royal Blue, Kelly Green, Silver and White. School nurse Sharon Geiger led the color selection process. Dr. Wilson and Assistant Principal Dr. David Lange sought and received permission from the Kansas State University Athletic Director (fee of $1.00) to use their Wildcat logo. Assistant Principal Dr. Polly Reikowski and Speech Program Director Ms. Joni Anker developed the words for the School Song, sung to the tune of the Notre Dame Fight Song. The high school first opened in the fall of 1989-90, operating on the west side of the building (Dakota Hills Middle School) with 350 ninth grade students. These students attended school on the second floor, while sixth and seventh grade students attend on the first floor of the same middle school, fulfilling a promise to parents that students from the two schools would not be mixed together, even though they were attending school in the same building. By the opening of the 1990-1991 school year, students in grades nine through twelve completed the full opening of Eagan High School. The first class to graduate from Eagan High School was the class of 1991, with students who had attended only their senior year at EHS. Those students claimed to be the "first class at EHS", while the original ninth grade students claimed that they were the "first REAL EHS graduates." They have never resolved the differences in their claims!
The first principal was Dr. Thomas F. Wilson, who had previously been principal at Rosemount High School within the District. Dr. Wilson held the position for a total of fifteen years of the high school's existence, from 1987 to 2002. Upon his retirement in 2002, a controversial replacement, Dr. Jane Stewart, was appointed by then Superintendent, Dr. John Haro. Citing her "paucity of qualifications" and upset at her quick appointment, the entire faculty walked out of their first meeting with her. Dr. Stewart nonetheless began as principal, but early-on was involuntarily transferred to a position in the district office—spawning a lawsuit for employment discrimination. Assistant Principal for Fine Arts, Dr. Polly Reikowski was promoted to Principal.
