Corpus Christi ISD breaks ground on new consolidated elementary school
Woodlawn Elementary School third-grader Landon Carvajal drove his shovel into the ground, scooping up and then flinging a clump of dirt into the air Thursday morning.
Several other Montclair, Meadowbrook and Woodlawn elementary school students and Corpus Christi ISD trustees, administrators and staff members did the same, marking the location of a new consolidated elementary school campus that is set to open in 2023.
A name for the new school will be determined at a later date.
Cullen Middle School has been closed since 2018. At the time, CCISD left up the gym, as well as tennis courts, for the use of the community.
If construction is completed as scheduled, Landon will be in fifth grade when the school opens. Eyeing the only structure currently standing on the lot — the shuttered middle school's old gym that will be incorporated into the new building — Landon said he was excited.
The most exciting part?
"Probably meeting new people," Landon said.
Montclair, Meadowbrook and Woodlawn are all smaller campuses.
"At one time they were larger, but these neighborhoods that are well established are now more retirement areas," Corpus Christi ISD Superintendent Roland Hernandez said. "There aren't a lot of younger families and younger kids."
A bond approved by voters in 2020 included $35 million to construct a 92,000-square-foot building combining the three elementary schools.
"It is important to us that our students have modern learning environments," Hernandez said. "Thanks to voter support, we've built nearly 20 new school buildings since 2008."
Hernandez said the new school, like other new schools in the district, will not have outdoor wings. Older schools were built with outdoor spaces where students and staff move between different buildings during the day.
"We've really tried to eliminate any outdoor-wing schools mainly for safety reasons," Hernandez said. "We're keeping our kids inside school buildings the entire time."
Other renovation and new school progress
On Monday, the Corpus Christi ISD board of trustees heard an update on renovation and new construction projects across the district.
The new Carroll High School is 85% complete, district construction project manager John Dibala said Monday.
The school is expected to welcome students this fall.
Later this summer, the district will also be breaking ground on a new Gibson Elementary campus, as well as a new elementary in southeast Corpus Christi. The southeast elementary school groundbreaking is planned for July 21 with a summer 2023 completion date.
The date for the Gibson groundbreaking has not yet been announced, but the school is expected to open in 2023.
Miller High School is currently undergoing a six-phase renovation. An eight-phase Ray High School renovation has also begun, with completion expected by September 2023.
"We're going to move the students out of an area, we'll renovate that area, then move the classes back into the area and then do it all over again for each one of the phases," Dibala said.
Menger Elementary School also has a renovation slated.
Olivia Garrett reports on education and community news in South Texas. Contact her at olivia.garrett@caller.com. You can support local journalism with a subscription to the Caller-Times.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi ISD breaks ground on new consolidated elementary school
