Families pitch in to improve Creston School

When Creston School found itself needing more space, it turned to its families for help.

They have responded in a big way, donating time, labor and supplies enough to build a new 400-square-foot classroom and remodel a supply closet into a learning center.

The school set a budget of about $80,000 but anticipates finishing the work for around $40,000 to $50,000 thanks to parents’ generosity, board chairwoman Peggy Hinkle said.

Work began over the summer and is expected to be wrapped up in the next couple of weeks.

Enrollment had been climbing at Creston when the board began discussing expansion options last year.

The numbers had started to drop in the late 1990s, then began inching their way up within the last few years. Last year 87 students attended Creston School, the highest enrollment since 1997.

The school board went to Creston families for help after deciding there were no other acceptable options to handle the school’s growth, Hinkle said.

Trustees had also discussed building a new school or getting temporary classrooms, both of which would require running a bond election.

“In this economy, we could not justify going to the taxpayers,” Hinkle said.

The board also had learned from the experiences of other rural districts, Hinkle said.

Voters in April rejected Fair-Mont-Egan School’s $1.9 million bond request to build a larger gym, connect the school’s two buildings and add at least two classrooms. In June, West Valley voters rejected a $3.5 million bond issue to build a new middle school wing.

Creston already had some money for building needs, Principal Judi Hewitt said.

Myrtle Smith, who had owned Creston Country Store, left the school about $16,000 or $17,000 when she died several years ago, Hewitt said.

The school also makes about $400 a year on land it rents out as pasture and the district has some building reserve money.

“It’s just miscellaneous bits of money,” Hewitt said.

Typically that money would pay for minor repairs and upkeep, Hinkle said. But Creston School is getting old enough that larger repairs and changes are needed.

The oldest part of the school is more than 100 years old, Hewitt said. An additional wing was built in the 1970s, and the gym was added around the mid-’80s.

The library was built in 1990, Hewitt’s second year at the school, and an annex was added in 1992.

Creston needed a way to separate its fifth- and sixth-graders, who share a classroom, for certain subjects, especially math, Hewitt said. Dividing the class will allow teachers to give students more individual attention and instruction.

Before, students were sent to the teachers’ lounge for their separate class times, Hinkle said. This drove the teachers to the library to eat lunch and was inconvenient for just about everyone, she said.

Soon the fifth and sixth grades will have a 406-square-foot classroom for their breakout sessions. Hinkle acknowledged the room isn’t very big, but said that for the few hours a day it will be in use, it will meet the school’s needs.

“If it was an all-day thing, this might be too small,” she said.

The classroom will have a few computers and be wired for high-speed Internet, Hinkle said. It  also will have interactive whiteboards on the walls.

The new learning center will be equally high-tech, Hinkle said.

At the moment, the room still looks like a 150-square-foot storage space. The items that used to be stuffed inside — boxes, musical instruments, miscellaneous supplies — are stacked around the gym floor.

But soon the room will have access to the outdoors and natural light, Hinkle said. It will be cheerful and warm and, she hopes, an inviting space for students who sometimes need to work one-on-one with team members.

The school music teacher likely will share the space, Hinkle said.

Extra insulation will be added to the walls; since it’s off the gym, the learning center will need a little sound-proofing.

The insulation for the project is among the many items the school has received a bargain on, Hinkle said. Many parents with children at the school have businesses that are providing discounted materials to go with the volunteer labor.

Hinkle and her husband, John, who own Hinkle Construction, are volunteering as general contractors on the project. Eddie Fox of Foxtops Construction and Bob Erickson of Jackola Engineering also have helped design and build.

Tom Martinez of NW Concreteworks helped with the foundation. Terry Leighty of Leighty Bros. Construction and Dallas Gray of Dallas Gray Construction helped with excavation and backfill. Tikka Plumbing is handling the pipes.

Collin Mitts of CM Quality Insulation is helping with the insulation. Kurt Simonson of Simco Electric is making sure the rooms will be lit, and Mark Mazur of Alpine Painting will take care of the new rooms’ interior and exterior paint jobs.

“We’ve been blessed, even in this economic time, for them to say, ‘We’ll give you the labor,’” Hinkle said.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.