Old school being recycled

Crews have been taking apart the old La Conner Elementary School brick by brick this month, and about 90 percent of the materials are being recycled, said School District Superintendent Tim Bruce.

The demolition is expected to be finished by Monday.

But before construction of the new La Conner Middle School can be built on the site, pilings will have to be put deep into the ground to support the buildings.

The influence of the Swinomish Channel and tides makes it necessary to install more than 170 pilings under the new building. Construction of the pilings will begin around Oct. 30, Bruce said.

An auger will drill to a depth of 50 feet into the ground, and concrete will be pumped into steel rebar cages to form the pilings.

Meanwhile, bins are set up at the construction site where the building materials are being sorted, as the wood, brick, wiring and other materials are set to be recycled.

The district intends to incorporate as much of the materials as possible into the new building, Bruce said. Bricks from the earliest portion of the old school, which dates to 1921, are being saved and cleaned to reuse in architectural details in the new middle school.

Also, Bruce said any bricks left over will be made available to the La Conner Booster Club and the La Conner PTSA to sell as fundraisers to help fund athletic equipment and other things to benefit students.

The construction is part of a $20 million school campus renovation project to improve and update all three schools, elementary, middle and high school. Voters approved the bonds to fund the project last year.