On Monday, January 16, 2006, seventeen Teachers from all departments at the current IVHS, one Guidance Counselor, one Secretary, the Principal, the Director of Buildings and Grounds, the Director of Cafeteria Operations, the Director of Secondary Education, the Superintendent, and Board President all traveled to Northern York High School for the morning and then on to Big Spring High School for the afternoon. These are new high schools that were built in the last three years, and the committee of twenty-five was looking for ideas in building designs that would be appropriate for the new high school.

It was a very busy day but very worthwhile, and the host schools were very accommodating.

The committee will now begin work on January 23, 2006, with the rest of the staff at IVHS developing specifications for the building project.
 

The Mifflin County School Board gave the initial approval to begin planning the new high school on November 17, 2005.
 

The new high school will be built on property owned by the School District above the current high school and above the new track and athletic field.
 

On December 7, 2005, plans were formed to purchase some additional property northwest of the site and northeast of the site.
 

On December 21, 2005, a project team kick-off meeting was held involving members of the Administration team, representatives from Hayes Large Architects, and Reynolds Construction.
 

On January 5, 2006, a meeting was held with a team of faculty members from the current IVHS staff to lay plans for educational specifications and prepare room schedules.
 

Visitations to other new high schools in the state began on January 9, 2006 and other visitations followed.
 

The School Board reviewed room schedules, educational specifications, and topographic surveys on February 23, 2006.
 

On July 5, 2006, a second Preliminary Meeting was held with Mifflin County Planning Staff and Derry Township.
 

September 11, 2006, Geotechnical Investigations began.
 

Act 34 Public Hearing was held on January 11, 2007.
 

Bids for construction were reviewed on September 6, 2007.
 

The building will be constructed to house 1150 students, grades 9-12, with an approximate cost of $62-64 million dollars.
 

The bids for the project were awarded on July 24, 2008
 

The Department of Education has approved the project to proceed.
 

Plans call for construction to begin soon after August 18, 2008.
 

Long-range plans call for IVMS to move to the current IVHS when the new high school is completed. This move supports the campus approach which the school district believes improves security, provides more flexibility for student enrollment shifts up or down, and provides for sharing staff and other resources.