Goodyear celebrates opening of first Goodyear High School; 440 freshmen enrolled

Goodyear — City leaders and school officials marked the opening of the new Goodyear High School during the Aug. 25 council meeting, and school principal Jason Lynn told the council the campus opened three weeks earlier with 440 ninth‑grade students enrolled.

“First and foremost, we wouldn't be here without the voters,” Principal Jason Lynn told Mayor Pizzillo and the council. Lynn said the district broke ground about one year earlier and thanked the city for assistance with permitting. He credited the voters for approving the bond that funded the facility and thanked the general contractor and ADM Architects for completing construction.

Speakers at the meeting highlighted the school's incorporation of design elements that reference the Phoenix Trotting Park, a historic harness‑racing facility that once stood near Interstate 10. Tammy (city staff) and community members described how architects used a window‑frame motif from the old Trotting Park in tilework around the school and said a rusted horseshoe found during construction will be displayed in the field‑house area as a local artifact.

Lynn said the school plans to create a Goodyear museum in the auditorium and presented the mayor and council with a commemorative mock football helmet and a photograph of the city seal. Several council members, staff and residents offered congratulations and encouraged the community to attend upcoming events, including the school's first football game.

The principal said the school currently enrolls all ninth graders and that registration was still open during the meeting. “We have 440 students today,” he said. The remarks were made during a ceremonial communication item and public recognition segment of the council meeting.