43
Razing of Reed school in Hubbard to begin today
By Danny restivo
HUBBARD
After 52 years of housing education, a city school will be demolished this week.
Demolition crews are scheduled to begin tearing down Reed Middle School today, said Superintendant Richard Buchenic.
The school first opened in 1960 for elementary students before it was converted into a middle school in 1970. Buchenic graduated from Hubbard High School in 1962, and though he never attended Reed, he served as the school’s assistant principal from 1980 to 1986. He said there is some nostalgia for the old building.
“Yeah, you do miss things, but we have to move forward,” he said.
Starting in the fall, students in grades 5-8 will begin classes at the new middle school branch of Hubbard’s 67-acre campus. The new campus opened its doors two years ago with grades 9-12, followed by the elementary branch in 2011.
When the middle school portion opens in the fall, it will be the culmination of a $56 million project that was funded in part by the Ohio Department of Education’s School Facilities Commission. The new campus, which will educate all of the school district’s 2,100 students, received 68 percent of its funding from the commission, while the district covered the remaining costs through the issuance of 27-year bonds in 2006.
The commission said it would be more cost-efficient for the district to build a new school rather than remodel current buildings, said Buchenic.
He said Reed is the last of remaining schools that will be torn down in Hubbard.
He said the middle school demolition process may take up to a month. The school plans to use the old grounds as parking lot and a softball field, said Buchenic.
The middle school portion of the campus is set to open Aug. 27, and a grand opening for the entire campus is planned for October.