The first school building in Riner was probably a one-room log cabin purchased in 1873. In the 1880s a two-room school was built, with a third room added later. In 1917, the school received accreditation as a senior high school. A third school was built in 1921, this one with four rooms. Later a stage and two additional rooms were added.[2] In 1938, the cornerstone of a new $85,000 building, paid for by Work Progress Administration funds, was laid for the new Auburn High School building. The school was first occupied in the fall of 1939.[3]
Until the early 1970s, Auburn served all grade levels for students in the Riner community. Students from the Bethel community attended Bethel Elementary School and moved to Auburn in sixth grade. In 1972, the original Riner Elementary School was built adjacent to the high school and served kindergarten through fifth graders. In 1998 the Auburn Elementary School opened, serving all of the Bethel and Auburn communities. The middle school students moved to the old Riner Elementary building when it was vacated.
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The current Auburn High School building was completed in September, 2013. The Riner Elementary School, opened 41 years earlier, was razed and the lot is now used for sports activities. The 1938 high school building was converted to a middle school.[5]
