Inspire School of Arts & Sciences, having opened officially in 2010, has always been in hopes of its own campus. The portables, originally part of Chico High, were meant to be temporary, but here we are over a decade later still here.

Throughout the years CUSD (Chico Unified School District) and Inspire boards have met attempting to find a solution. Named Canyon View, a plot of land owned by CUSD, was to host another public high school in the late ‘90s, then in 2019 became a point of interest for Inspire’s new home. The Charter School Facility Program Grant (CSFP) would give Inspire up to $8 million for the construction as long as we matched that money, and CUSD agreed to chip in around $1 million. Rainforth-Grau Architects (RGA) and King Consulting were hired to help with the building plans around the same time. This idea aimed to benefit both Chico High and Inspire as Chico High could expand, allowing them to have more classes, and we could get a place of our own.

In May 2020, CUSD and Inspire boards approved this plan and RGA predicted the total cost to be around $16.5 million, Inspire was prepared to handle most of the cost ourselves. The new campus idea: a 2-story building, a new dance building, new modular buildings, and a future theater and cafe. However, the cost piled together and totaled out to roughly $27 million, which leaves an $8-10 million shortfall. We only have a limited time, too, the CSFP grant requires that the project be done by 2027-28, which leaves us with 2 options. We could move forward with the Canyon View plan, which would mean the district would have to increase to around a 30% contribution. Or we use the CSFP grant to upgrade our current facility, which means we’d fund it all and permanently stay on the Chico High campus. Our board has reached out to CUSD, asking for engagement on a joint facilities committee. There are plans for a Spring Facilities Town Hall meeting to gather input.

So what can we do to help?

A major way we can help is to share about our school on social media. Try to get us out there as donations would help propel the project forward. Sharing your story as a student of our unique school can help bring in donors. We can do it, but we need all the help we can get and to work together.

We, along with CUSD, have made progress towards a plan to give us a permanent home. Unfortunately, we have a shortfall as the prices have been rising and there’s not a lot of time left. With that 2027-28 deadline quickly approaching, it’s clear that we need all the help we can get, to make our new nest a reality and not just a dream.