HISTORY

The story of the New Niagara Falls High School (NNFHS) is a tale of vision and courage, of leadership and teamwork, of
educational innovation and community commitment.

In the mid 1990’s, the Niagara Falls School District (NFSD) housed two high schools in need of such significant roofing repairs that basketball games were cancelled on account of rain. The District’s 2,500 high school students were losing the battle to learn in 40-year old facilities with peeling tiles, outmoded restrooms, rampant asbestos, and obsolete technology.

The District responded by forming a community-based Senior High Evaluation Committee (SHEC) and tasked them with conducting an 18-month evaluation of the current facilities. The SHEC returned nine recommendations for consideration to
the Board of Education, resulting from more than 40 community forums held to consider the options for the NFSD.

One new innovative high school, on a city-owned park site, with no local taxes required was the unanimous consensus!

Special State Legislation, allowing for privatization of the new school, was one of the key steps to implementing the project without raising taxes. NFSC was given permission to enter into a unique agreement with Honeywell, Inc. to develop and manage the project. The Hillier Group was selected as the architectural/engineering firm and the Louis P. Ciminelli Building Company of Buffalo was hired as general contractor.

THE TEAM

The Niagara Falls School District is on a mission is to be a world-class quality educational organization. A nine-member Board of Education, elected for five- year overlapping terms, governs the operations of one senior high school, three middle schools, nine elementary schools, and one adult education school. It serves a community population of 55,000+ with 9,100 students, 672 teachers and 650 support staff.