A.B. Combs school prepares to host students from flood-damaged schools

A.B. Combs school(WYMT)
Published: Aug. 11, 2022 at 5:05 PM EDT

PERRY COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - The A.B. Combs Elementary school was in use from 1974 to 2017, but now, cleanup is underway to prepare to open its doors to students from Buckhorn and Robinson.

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The building will be open to help serve students from schools that were damaged during flooding.

“It’s been easy to know we want to keep our group together,” said James Fugate, the Robinson Elementary Principal. “The hard part is we probably have 25-30% of our kids that have lost their home and their school. So the two safest places they know of are gone. IF we could find a way to take that same core of people and just displace them into another building, hopefully, we can provide that sense of security again. Kids come first in our community and so by keeping Robinson together we are excited for that opportunity with our staff and our community to get a building which has great bones and make it home.”

The Perry County Superintendent Jonathan Jett said the layout inside the A.B. Combs building is simple, allowing Buckhorn students on one side and Robinson students on the other side.

“We’re at that point where it is time to quit mourning. It’s time to start doing the work,” said Fugate/

James Fugate is set to begin his ninth year as a principal. He spent his first three years at AB Combs and the rest at Robinson. Now, he is about to go back where it all started.

“We’re going to go to that building with a positive approach, with an excited approach, and a new foundation to create,” he said.

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