Teams at Riverside’s North High School will soon get to play in a new state-of-the-art gymnasium as a $61.5 million campus renovation nears completion. An eight-classroom science building and other repairs and renovations around the Eastside campus are also part of the upgrades. The two-year proje ct addressed community complaints about dilapidated science labs, restrooms that didn’t work and other facilities some described as being in desperate need of repair. “I believe that these two new buildings were both much needed for the school and much needed just to try to maintain all of our high schools to be in kind when it comes to what facilities we have for our students,” North Principal Jodi Gonzalez said Wednesday, Dec. 17. North High School basketball players Michael Arce and Jamarien Joseph walk onto the court of the Riverside school’s new gym Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) North High School basketball player Michael Arce practices at the Riverside school’s new gymnasium Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) North High School’s basketball players Zoe Garcia, Michael Arce, and Jamarien Joseph enter the Riverside school’s new gym with Principal Jodi Gonzales on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) A view of the new gym corridor at North High School is seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) A view of the new home locker room at North High School is seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) The new home locker room at North High School is seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) North High School basketball players Brijande Ward, Zoe Garcia, Jamarien Joseph and Michael Arce enter the Riverside school’s new locker room Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) The new gym concession at North High School is seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) A view of the new gym lobby at North High School is seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) The new gymnasium at North High School is seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) The new visitor locker room at North High School is seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) The new gymnasium at North High School is seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) The new visitor locker room at North High School is seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) Science teacher Magali Lopez-Herrera explains the hydroponic tower garden inside a new North High School classroom Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) Students are seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, during an environmental science class in a new North High School science classroom in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) North High School’s Magali Lopez-Herrera teaches environmental science Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in a new science classroom in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) North High School’s new building, seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Riverside, is part of campus improvements funded by Measure O. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) North High School’s new building, seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Riverside, is part of the campus renovations funded by Measure O. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) A classroom with hydroponic tower gardens is seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, at North High School in Riverside. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) North High School’s new building, seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Riverside, is part of the campus modernization project funded by Measure O. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) North High School’s new building is seen Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in Riverside. It is part of the campus renovation funded by Measure O. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) North High School basketball players Jamarien Joseph and Zoe Garcia take shots in the Riverside school’s new gymnasium Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) Show Caption1 of 22North High School basketball players Michael Arce and Jamarien Joseph walk onto the court of the Riverside school’s new gym Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer) Expand In 2021, some in the community accused the Riverside Unified School District of discriminating against the predominantly minority neighborhood where North sits and alleged it was prioritizing a STEM school over North, which they said was in “dire need” of repairs. “For too long, North was neglected in its appearance and we were determined that it would no longer continue as a school of poverty,” Rich Davis, a Riverside resident and past North administrator, said in a Monday, Dec. 15, news release. He applauded the community for its support in getting the repairs done and said that, while the school needs more work, it was a time to celebrate the progress. In 2021, the Riverside school board voted to set aside at least $50 million for upgrades at North High, doubling the $26 million it had previously committed from Measure O, a $392 million bond that voters approved in 2016. In May 2021, a district design committee identified $157.1 million in needs at the 43-acre Third Street campus, including substantial upgrades to the library, theater, gym, cafeteria and classrooms. A district panel ranked the gym and lockers as the highest campus priority. The 18,327-square-foot gym includes new equipment, an indoor snack bar, indoor bathrooms, home team and visitor locker rooms, an athletic director’s office, storage space and a virtual hall of fame that will be projected onto the wall to showcase the school’s sports champions. The building will officially open Monday, Jan. 5, when students return from winter break. The inaugural game from one of the winter sports has not yet been scheduled because North wants to give athletes a few weeks to practice in the new gym before a game, Gonzalez said. The old gym will be used for physical education classes and as extra space should North host a tournament, Gonzalez said. “This is a huge step,” Assistant Principal and Athletics Director Dennis Brown said. “… Remembering where we’ve come from, you know, and our past and the legacy that some of the previous coaches, previous teachers, previous athletes, players, students have laid the groundwork for this to be possible.” The school also welcomed a new science building with eight classrooms, with moveable tables and hydraulic doors to make it easier to bring equipment in and out. Classes moved into the building around Thanksgiving break. “It’s been a transition just with the space and our students just trying to get used to our new amenities and figuring out our equipment, but it’s been good,” Magalia Lopez-Herrera, an environmental science teacher, said. Lopez-Herrera said moveable work stations allow students to work at lab stations along the walls of the classroom, push desks together for lectures or move them out of the way to work with larger equipment. In her class, students work with hydroponic towers, growing crops in slim towers standing more than 6 feet tall. The towers give the students hands-on experience as they participate in the urban-style farming of crops such as basil, lettuce and chamomile tea.  Other North High renovations include: Modernized restrooms Accessibility improvements  Heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades, new ceilings, lighting, flooring and paint in seven buildings. Remodeling in the theater is expected in summer. Gate panels outside the school showcasing alums and current students, including professional athletes and Olympians who attended North. The district has set aside money for other schools, including  $53 million for Casa Blanca Elementary School which opened this year, $62 million for the Ofelia Valdez-Yeager Eastside Elementary School set to open in 2027, $10 million for a Project Team School, $10 million to cover potential cost increases for other Measure O projects underway, and $2 million preliminary studies for a new Highgrove school and the proposed STEM Education Center at UC Riverside. Related Articles Riverside Elks Lodge hosts Christmas dinner for veterans Grant helps Girls on the Run Inland Empire go the distance Temecula’s Community Christmas Dinner will be at Mt. San Jacinto College Operation Holiday Cheer rolls through Inland Empire supporting hospital workers Molina Healthcare hosts food giveaway in Moreno Valley The district has seen challenges to its use of Measure O dollars. In October, an appellate court found the district used funds correctly, upholding a 2024 ruling decision that found that the bond measure listed the construction of new schools as a possible use for the money. In 2023, the district was sued by a the Riversiders Against Increased Taxes group. The suit, which named then-Superintendent Renee Hill, who retired in July and was replaced by Sonia Llamas, alleged the district was misusing bond funding to build new campuses rather than focusing on repairs to existing schools. In June, state Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside, requested a state audit that aims to assess whether the Riverside school board complied with state transparency laws when deciding to use Measure O money to build a STEM high school. It also will evaluate whether the board complied with state law governing the proper use of bond measure funding and determine whether a lease between the board and UC Riverside to create a STEM high school is transparent and protects the district. ...read more read less