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Razing of old Hubbard High gives rise to emotion
By Elise Franco
Hubbard
Students and alumni grabbed scattered bricks as a reminder of the past and a look to the future as the old Hubbard High School began its descent to the ground.
About 150 people stood in the parking lot of the old high school Saturday afternoon and watched as demolition began on the 56-year-old building.
Superintendent Richard Buchenic, a Hubbard graduate, said the old school’s demolition was bittersweet.
“Everybody that went to school here has a special place in their heart for this school,” he said. “It’s the place where I spent four of the best years, and it gave me a great education and great memories.”
The school is being torn down to make room for a new middle school that will be built on the same site, Buchenic said.
Construction on the middle school, which will be the second of three new district buildings, is scheduled to begin Oct. 1, and Buchenic said it should be ready for students for the 2012-13 school year.
Residents are invited to tour the new $20 million high school at 2 p.m. today. The total project cost is about $56 million, 68 percent of which is paid for by the Ohio School Facilities Commission.
Ron Garrett, high school principal, said he began his career in Hubbard in 1972 and will miss the old school but looks forward to the new.
“Although I’m not a Hubbard graduate, I’ve spent more time in here than most of the students,” he said. “The new building is unbelievable, but this building was sort of an unbelievable building of its time, also.”
Buchenic said the fact that so many people have supported the new construction and then showed up to watch the demolition is a testament to the community itself.
“People are here just to be a part of this moment,” he said. “This is a community thing. They made all of it possible because they have a great deal of respect for education.”
Karen DeLuco, a Hubbard graduate, said she’s sad to see the old building go.
“It’s a very, very sad day ... because of the old memories,” she said. “My kids all went to school in this building, and it’s nice to have them go to the same school I went to.”