Historic Carbonado school home to construction workers, not students

The students are in portables around the school while construction continues.

By Kevin Hanson • March 20, 2019 9:40 am
The Carbonado School gym has been turned into a work room during construction at the 90-year-old building. The gym is one of very few rooms that will not be remodeled. Superintendent Scott Hubbard point to an area behind the building where a generator will be installed. Photos by Kevin Hanson
The Carbonado School gym has been turned into a work room during construction at the 90-year-old building. The gym is one of very few rooms that will not be remodeled. Superintendent Scott Hubbard point to an area behind the building where a generator will be installed. Photos by Kevin Hanson

Students have been replaced by construction workers and the sound of teachers delivering lessons has been given way to the shrill sound of power tools.

That’s a current fact of life at tiny Carbonado School, a historic structure that has been educating the town’s children for 90 years.

Given the school’s long history of service, it’s noteworthy that the brick structure has not housed a student since October.

There are nearly 200 youngsters enrolled in Carbonado, from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. While construction moves along, they are being taught in a series of five portable buildings on school grounds. But they’re not the only ones displaced; administrative staff has temporarily moved into a separate building used for the library and computer lab.

Leading a one-on-one tour last week was Superintendent/Principal Scott Hubbard, who has spent 28 of his 38 years in education at Carbonado. After 10 years teaching in Sumner and 11 more in Carbonado, he was elevated to the district’s top job.

Hubbard is openly proud that Carbonado has kept up the times when it comes to technology and notes how the yearlong construction project will keep the community’s historic school humming along. A boiler will be replaced by heat pumps, asbestos is being discovered and removed and the new school configuration has an emphasis on student safety – a definite nod to modern-day concerns.

At the same time, Hubbard can’t help but wonder about the challenges faced by the state’s tiniest districts. While some new schools have a near-palatial appearance, Carbonado had to seek emergency funds to pay for its heating and cooling needs.

But he’s not complaining. Rather, Hubbard is appreciative of district voters who authorized a $1.75 million bond request. He confirms that Carbonado citizens have never failed to pass a bond measure or maintenance levy.

That local support, combined with a state contribution of $2.7 million, allowed the current project to spring to life.

Current plans call for work to be completed this summer, with the building ready to receive students next fall.