A lion’s share of emotions: Payson celebrates new high school, says goodbye to the old
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- Payson Principal Jesse Sorenson cuts a ribbon to open the new high school Monday, May 19, 2025.
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- Payson students look around the new high school Monday, May 19, 2025.
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- Payson community members and students watch a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new high school Monday, May 19, 2025.
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- The new Payson High School is pictured Monday, May 19, 2025.
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- The new Payson High School is pictured Monday, May 19, 2025.
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- The old Payson High School is pictured Monday, May 19, 2025.
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- A mural at the old Payson High School is pictured Monday, May 19, 2025.
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- People walk between the old Payson High School and the new Payson High School on Monday, May 19, 2025.
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- Nebo School District Superintendent Rick Nielsen speaks at the new Payson High School ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday, May 19, 2025.
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- The new Payson High School is pictured Monday, May 19, 2025.
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- The new Payson High School is pictured Monday, May 19, 2025.
The phrases “old school” and “new school” were tossed around generously by people in conversation at Payson High School’s campus Monday night.
Just hours before Payson’s senior class graduated Tuesday afternoon, this was a chance to say goodbye to the old school that will be torn down next month, and the first opportunity to marvel at the new school that will open for classes in August.
And during the evening’s ceremonial open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new building, kids and adults alike walked between the two schools trying to soak it all in.
“The last two weeks have been really kind of a roller coaster of emotions, as far as saying goodbye to the old and being excited for the new,” Payson Principal Jesse Sorenson said. “The history and the memories of the old building are so rich and so deep that it’s hard to ignore that. But the excitement for the future is obviously what we’re thinking about, too. Can’t always live in the past, and we’re excited for what this means to our students and the future generations.”
The new school officially opened Monday with the blaring of bagpipes and speeches from school and district officials in front of hundreds of community members. After the ribbon was cut, the masses poured in to check out the new facility.
Compared to the low ceilings, skinny hallways and aging infrastructure of the old school, the new building has some grandeur. The 360,000-square-foot project that cost approximately $143 million has a towering entrance, two massive stories and a sleek gray design.
It may take some getting used to for some.
“I feel like this school is going to be way too big for us,” senior Taide Jorgensen said. “I walk around and I’m like, ‘OK, how are you fitting everybody in here?’ Because it feels like we have a lot less students, but maybe I’m just not paying enough attention in the halls.”
School officials believe building a new school was a necessary change that was years in the making. The old school, which opened in 1967, was built to accommodate around 700 kids, Sorenson said, and Payson’s current enrollment is north of 1,700.
“We’ve definitely outgrown it,” he said. “And this has all the modern amenities that you would want for students, preparing them for the next generation of jobs and the workplace and college.”
Checking out the new school
Jim Griffin spent 26 years as a coach and teacher at Payson High School and was the head coach of the Lions’ boys basketball team for much of the 1980s.
When he arrived for Monday’s open house, he went straight to the new gymnasium.
Dug into the ground on the southwest wing of the building, the space has two adjacent gyms divided by a wall that will accommodate a combined four full-size basketball courts. A one-eighth mile track wraps around both gyms from above at ground level, and when the stands are inserted the gym will seat 2,520 people.
“I think it’s awesome,” Griffin said. “It will be great when it opens.”
The new school is structurally finished, with the majority of the 78 classrooms move-in ready. The premises will boast a media center, new wood and metal shops, dance, choir and band rooms, a 1,522 seat auditorium with a balcony and more modern amenities.
But the building is not completely done, as finishing touches need to be made to the auditorium, gymnasium and other areas.
Yet Payson still wanted to open the school early — in this case, a day before graduation and months before the next school year starts — to “breath some life into it,” Sorenson stated.
“High schools don’t really shut down in the summer,” he said. “Usually the day after graduation, we have the football team, cheerleaders, marching band, everybody comes back to get ready for the next year. And so we wanted to kind of carry that spirit on, even though they’re not going to be able to really use this building for a little bit. It’s to kind of let people know this will be their new home. We didn’t want that to go away without them knowing they’ll still have a home.”
Students were on board to help with the effort.
In the past week, kids took 15 minute breaks during classes to carry teacher supplies and equipment from the old school into classrooms at the new building.
“A lot of people in the community thought the kids weren’t going to want to help,” Sorenson said. “That’s hard labor. They’re just going to disappear. But that wasn’t the case. They just came together like a community and chipped in. It was really fun. So I would say the excitement and energy level is high.”
Remembering the old school
The old Payson High School is most famous for being the filming location of the movie “Footloose” in 1983, featuring Kevin Bacon.
That factoid was publicly celebrated last year when Payson students successfully lobbied Bacon to return to Payson for a charity event in honor of the movie’s 40th anniversary and the school’s pending closure.
It was a fun occasion for the 2025 graduating class of Payson. The students’ lasting memories, though, will be their own shenanigans they got up to inside the high school.
One senior boy said the school was his playground, a place where he’d go exploring. “I’ll search on the roof or go in the basement and find stuff,” he said.
Another senior joked he’ll remember evading the building to slough off from classes, and sneaking back into the building after hours.
All the students said they’ll cherish their times hanging out with friends, and a few even referenced the education they received.
“I’ll probably most remember my friends and some of the teachers I’ve had that had a huge impact on my life,” Jorgensen said.
Graduating the same year the school gets demolished marks an end of an era in more ways than one for many students.
Jake Steele said he’s the youngest of four siblings, each of whom went to Payson, and he will be the last one in his immediate family to go to the school.
Senior Dominic Silva said his grandma was a part of the new school’s first graduating class in 1967, making Tuesday’s graduation a full-circle moment for him.
“So it’s kind of an honor,” he said.
And Jorgensen said she’s a second-generation Lion.
“It’s kind of cool that I can be a part of that,” Jorgensen said. “Just kind of finish that off.”
Inside an intimate setting full of history and connections, the old school was “full of life,” Jorgensen said. Several students referenced the community connection and the comradery between students.
The hope from the departing class is that will continue into the shiny new space.
“It’s cool here, it’s a good culture going on,” senior Logan Robertson said. “Hopefully the newer students will pick it up. I don’t know about some of the juniors and sophomores, but hopefully they will pick it up from us and the teachers. It’ll be cool to see what happens.”
