What used to be the grounds of the old Hug High School is now under construction to become the Debbie Smith CTE Academy for high school students.

The design for the new Career and Technical Education (CTE) Academy includes several buildings from the original Hug High School campus, while others have been demolished and will be replaced.

RiSE Academy for Adult Education will also be moved to the location.

The $1 billion in funding for the project comes from WC1, a ballot measure passed in 2016.

The new school will allow students to focus on topics they want to explore either in trades or in college, allowing them to get a jump up on their education.

The Washoe County School District says they're proud to be able to provide this option for students.

Beth Smith, Washoe County School Board President explains "Having specialized focused education on the things our kids need to learn in a modern world is really important for us to deliver on our WCSD promise, which includes preparing students for the future that they choose."

The Debbie Smith CTE Academy is going to be open to all high schoolers in Washoe County.

Once a student applies to one of the specialty programs the school will make their admissions decisions and let students know if they've been accepted prior to the start of the 2025 school year.

Beth Smith says, "This project was really something we had to work on over years to make happen, and we did. And we did it because of the passion and commitment of so many people and so I want to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who made today possible."

It's also the first high school named after a woman in our community.

Debbie Smith has passed away, but her family was able to attend the groundbreaking ceremony.

Beth Smith also says, "Having Debbie Smith's family here to be a part of this moment is everything that we believe in. She was a woman of family of service and commitment to education so to have them with us is also to have the spirit of Debbie with us and we're very honored for that."

Debbie Smith's son Ian said, "My mom was focused on education, and public education, for really decades. So I think this is something she would be so proud of, and more so the outcomes of what the school is going to mean for the community, so something she'd be most proud of."

Her family says if she was there today, they think she would be honored. They also say having her name on the school hasn't set in for them fully, but Ian Smith says it is "Pretty emotional and pretty jarring but it's also really meaningful."