Volunteers helped in reshuffling students before school year began

A fire on July 13 at Grantsville Elementary School caused the historic school to be unusable, forcing a massive reshuffling of elementary students and a massive moving effort by local residents.

Initially, district officials believed the fire, which began in the faculty lounge and was ignited by a stove burner left unattended, caused minimal damage. However, further investigation revealed that 30 percent of the classrooms were damaged by fire, smoke and water, and the building was too dangerous for students without further repairs.

“Upon arrival there were flames shooting out of the roof and the windows that had been blown out,” said Grantsville Fire Department Captain Brent Marshall. “The fire damage was contained to the teacher’s lounge area. But there was smoke and water damage throughout the building.”

Tooele County School District Superintendent Terry Linares formulated a plan for the school’s 750 students. The third- and fourth-graders displaced by the fire would start the school year at Willow Elementary School while the fifth- and sixth-graders would attend Grantsville Jr. High School.

“We’ve got plenty of space and plenty of portables, and we’ll have a plan in place by next week,” Linares said immediately following the fire. “I wouldn’t anticipate changing any class time schedules. We plan to maintain the integrity of our current schedule.”

Five double portables went to Willow and two doubles and three singles were set up at GJHS.

The Grantsville community came out in droves during August to help the elementary school and its 37 teachers relocate to the other schools. Employees from the Wal-Mart Distribution Center provided 858 volunteer hours painting the portables, moving tables, arranging desks and transporting classroom materials. Wal-Mart also presented the school with a check for $22,103. Many other local businesses donated smaller sums to the effort.

“Only in America, and only in a small town like Grantsville, would you find the outpouring of support that would make it possible to move an entire school in a matter of weeks,” Linares said a few weeks before school started.

As the school year nears the halfway mark, the district is still unsure of what will happen to Grantsville Elementary, parts of which date back to 1929. Thus far, school officials have been unable to reach a settlement for the insurance claim for damages to the building. The Utah Division of Risk Management made an initial offer of $3 million to restore the old school. However, the district estimates it will cost $6 million for restoration and another $2 million to bring the school into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

Missy Thompson: missy@tooeletranscript.com