For as long as the residents of Waterloo, Iowa have known, there has always been a profound rivalry between West High and East High. The school’s rivalry dates back more than 100 years, as East was founded in 1874 and West was founded in 1922. However, the East-West rivalry did not come out of thin air.
In 1858, Waterloo developed two separate school districts. But, on March 19, 1866, when the residents from both sides of the river were set to vote on the districts, heavy water and rain prevented west side residents from crossing the then non-existent bridge to access the East Waterloo polling place. Due to the lack of West Side voters, the issue of establishing two separate school districts was passed, meaning the West side became the Independent District of Waterloo, and the East side became the East Waterloo Independent School District.
Recently, the decision was made that two Waterloo High Schools will be traveling back in time. On April 25, the Waterloo Community School District (WSCD) released what will be a historic change for the school district: a unified high school for secondary students. While members of the school board have shared that plans to create a unified high school have been ongoing since 2012, the main reason for this change was the district’s ability to provide students from across the district with the same access to opportunities that could vastly benefit their education.
Recently, it was announced that the plan to unify the two high schools was approved after being voted on by the residents of Waterloo.
While the unified high school will tremendously benefit students in the school district, emotions are still running high. Junior Alyssa Muheljic states “Even though I think that it is going to be beneficial for both schools, something I’m worried about is how the schools are going to merge due to the differing cultures and the fact that we are rivals.”
With the construction set to begin in 2025, the school should be up and running by the 2028-2029 school year, meaning this year’s freshmen will be the last class to graduate from West High School. Freshman Tate Westphal shares that “it’s special to be a part of the last graduating class of West High because it allows us to be included in the last chapter of West High’s history and what has been accomplished over the years.”
