(PUEBLO, Colo.) — Pueblo County School District 70 (D70) is celebrating the restoration of the historic North Mesa Little Red School House. D70 says it’s the oldest legacy facility in the district, built in 1876.

The story behind its facelift is nothing short of inspiring. It’s more than just a paint job–to many, it’s a symbol of D70’s history, resilience and strong community.

“I went to school here at North Mesa Elementary. My kids went to school here, and my grandkids went to school here,” said Brad Ward, owner of Com-Res Professional Painting.

D70 is one of the lowest funded districts in Colorado, and has no mill levy. So when Ward saw the schoolhouse’s disrepair, he felt compelled to step up and preserve its history.

“This building, to me, is the mascot of North Mesa Elementary. I reached out to my supplier, Sherwin-Williams, and I got them to donate the paint and we made it happen,” said Ward.

It’s not the first time he’s donated his services to the schools. However, he says paid work at D70 helped keep his business open last year when money was tight.

“We usually do around 25 houses, new houses a year, and last year we only did five new houses,” said Ward.

Ward says they were able to pull off this restoration with the help of his wife, his employees, and God.

“The only thing that I really want people to take away from this is, you know, not everybody is in a situation that they can do things, but every one of us do have some ability. Whether it’s the smallest ability to pray for someone, or the largest ability to volunteer our time and actually get involved in hands-on work,” said Ward.

Community members nearby have already thanked them for the work, as people Ward’s age and younger went to kindergarten in the building (now used for special services).

“There’s still some things that need to be done here, and I would like to see this building endure until the end of time. It’s got a historical meaning here and it’s very, very, valuable to the community,” Ward said.

Ward added that a majority of the work involved scraping off loose paint.

“The siding was in such bad shape. We’ve got probably three 35-gallon trash bags full of paint scrapings off of the building. You know, when it’s all said and done, we’re probably looking at about 300 man hours, and most of that is prep. The painting takes very little time,” said Ward.

They hope to have the project done by next week.