Photo by Deb Gau An excavator worked at pulling down the 1919 portion of the former Russell-Tyle Russell Middle School building in Russell Tuesday morning.

RUSSELL — The opening of the new Russell-Tyler-Ruthton School building in Tyler brought students together last fall, but it also meant the end for the old school buildings in each community. This week, demolition began at the former RTR Middle School in Russell.

Efforts by a group of Russell area residents to try and preserve the school gymnasium for community use weren’t successful last summer, said Christa Peterson.

A survey the conducted by the “Save the Gym Committee” showed positive responses from the community, but there were cost and other obstacles to saving the Russell gym.

“Unfortunately, we ran into expenses we simply could not afford with the funds available and the time line we had to work in,” the Save the Gym Committee wrote in a letter to survey respondents back in August. “Regrettably, we had to abandon our efforts.”

Construction of a combined K-12 RTR school opened in Tyler was completed last year, in time for classes to start in the fall. The three existing RTR school buildings in Russell, Tyler and Ruthton were scheduled for demolition. Work tearing down the old school buildings started in Ruthton in December, and in Tyler in early January.

Demolition at the Russell school site started this week, city staff said. By Tuesday morning, a large portion of the building was already gone. An excavator was working on pulling down the oldest part of the former Russell school, which dates back to 1919.

The Russell gymnasium was still standing on Tuesday morning, but it will eventually be demolished.

In July, the Save the Gym Committee surveyed community members to see if there was support for keeping the gymnasium for public use. The survey received a total of 42 responses, with 35 in favor of saving the gym, the committee’s response letter said. Survey respondents pledged a total of around $30,000 in financial support for the project, as well as pledging time for managing and maintaining the facility. The RTR School Board also pledged to put money allocated for demolishing that part of the school into an escrow account for future use.

However, “taxes and insurance were big issues we could not get a handle on,” said the committee’s letter. The committee said estimated property taxes for the gym would be $20,000 a year. They were also unable to find an insurance company willing to insure the project.

“The result was disappointing,” the letter said. “But the group remains committed to finding recreational facilities for our kids and a place for social activities. Perhaps some arrangements can be made using the existing (Russell) Community Building.”