Value is more than money

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

Sinclair Elementary School dates back to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, giving it significant historical value both locally and nationally, and making it a target for preservation.

The school’s Spanish-colonial architecture and decorative brickwork makes it unique. It was built by craftsmen who spent time on the design, said Mary Humstone, a professor in the American studies department at the University of Wyoming.

In Humstone’s 2005 historical preservation class, students located schools throughout the state that have been standing for 50 years or more. Humstone whittled the list of 130 down to about 50 that fit the bill of a historical building. The rest have additions or renovations that changed them drastically enough to remove them from the list.

Both Sinclair and Elk Mountain elementary schools are on Humstone’s list. Elk Mountain Elementary School, which was likely built in the late 1940s, is not as distinctive, but she considers it well built and attractive. It also has local historical value after serving its community for decades.

Since both schools still stand with few or no additions, Humstone believes they qualify as additions to the National Register of Historic Places, an honor given to a building with historic or architectural significance, or with a connection to a famous person. But in Wyoming, unlike the other 49 states, being listed on the register doesn’t provide protection from demolition.

Humstone is heading up an effort to save the state’s historic schools. Her effort is twofold. According to Humstone, a community must realize its school’s historical significance. Any School Facilities Commission decisions should also take into account a community’s connection with its buildings, she said.

“Generally, people do not get excited about these buildings,” Humstone said. “They don’t really rally to save the schools, but that’s partly due to the fact that they think it’s a done deal. Community members sometimes feel helpless when a small group of board members is making the decisions.” To her, if a community is vocal enough, a decision can be influenced or reversed.


Professor wants rules changed

In Pennsylvania, a building’s historical value must be assessed prior to making plans for demolition or renovation.

That includes schools and is a model Mary Humstone, a professor in the University of Wyoming’s American studies department, is trying to establish in Wyoming.

If School Facilities Commission money is used toward the renovation of historic schools, “people would really be amazed at what could be done,” Humstone said. She said much of early architecture can accommodate new technology.

Ken Daraie, SFC director, acknowledged that technology, electricity and plumbing are not huge problems with older buildings.

“Educational suitability is the buzz word,” he said. Often, a building’s structure limits a classroom’s flexibility.

Daraie and Humstone have been working together to establish a way to preserve schools with historical value by either finding a way to modify them or by transferring the buildings into the hands of organizations that can better use the facility. However, no policies are in place.