New schools opening, old buildings coming down: What to know about school moves

Five years ago, Cullen Middle School closed and the buildings came down. For a few years, the neighborhood used the empty school property as greenspace. Then, about a year ago, the construction crews came back and a new building rose.

When it opens in a few weeks, the $35 million, 92,000-square foot Cullen Place Elementary School will merge the staff and students of three now-closed CCISD campuses — Montclair, Woodlawn and Meadowbrook elementary schools.

Over the past decade and a half, Corpus Christi ISD has won voter approval for five bond packages totaling more than $950 million. Nearly every campus in the district has been touched in some way, from additions and renovations to entirely new builds.

The district's purchasing and distribution department makes sure the schools are outfitted and ready to go for the new year, led by director Arnulfo Gonzalez.

“My first week I started working here, we were moving Webb (Elementary School) back in 2005,” Gonzalez said. “It hasn’t stopped since. Every year, there’s a school, there’s a school, there’s a school.”

For the Montclair, Woodlawn and Meadowbrook consolidation, the district’s internal moving team handed out 5,000 boxes at the tail end of last spring. By the time school staff removed their personal belongings and filled the boxes with instructional materials, the planning team had already determined the logistics of where each box would go within the new school.

Last week, the movers transported boxes by pallet-load into Cullen Place, which was already outfitted with new furniture.

“They’re extremely fast, very efficient,” CCISD construction manager John Dibala said. “A well-oiled machine.”

There’s a dry erase board in Gonzalez’s office in the Corpus Christi ISD administrative building used for tracking the needs of all 50-plus schools, noting which year each was built. On the opposite wall, Gonzalez has a bookshelf stuffed with binders.

“It’s what we do in the beginning, the pre-planning, that helps us get organized and be more efficient,” Gonzalez said.

Before the Cullen Place move, the team moved Allen Elementary School into George Evans Elementary School. Allen is undergoing a renovation. When it’s complete next year, the team will move everything back to Allen.

The Allen move took about a week, Gonzalez said.

“Even to us, it’s mind-boggling how we can actually move one school to another really quickly and seamlessly,” Gonzalez said.

Earlier, during the first week of summer, the team moved Crockett Elementary School, consolidating it with Shaw Elementary School.

Also on the agenda was Gibson Elementary School, where a new school was built alongside the old school over the course of the school year.

The consolidations are the result of fluctuations and shifts in student populations and serve district financial goals by cutting down on the number of aging facilities it needs to maintain.

“This is the most moves we’ve ever had since I been here in 20 years,” Gonzalez said. “On average, we move one school. This year, we moved seven.”

The in-house moving team includes four people and a supervisor. To get through the summer, the district brings on about 10 temporary workers, and staff from the stockroom and receiving teams pitch in.

For this team, the busy summer was just a continuation of a busy year. Menger Middle School, Ray High School and Miller High School all underwent phased renovations over the course of the school year, necessitating a rotating slate of small moves while the buildings were in use.

Beyond the internal coordination needed between the district, the in-house moving team and campus staff, there is also communication with contractors and vendors to make sure everything is ready on time.

“We talk about everything,” Dibala said. “’Where are you coming in from? Where are you going to be unloading stuff? Where are you going to be staging it? Where are you going to be unboxing? Where are you going to take the boxes? What hallways are you using?”

As the summer comes to a close, the district is eyeing the next set of projects and the return of students and staff.

The new Creekside Elementary School, planned to address neighborhood growth in the Southside, is slated to open next year. The most recent bond package will also fund a replacement of Hamlin Middle School, the construction of a new southeast middle school and the Allen Elementary School renovation, along with gym and playground additions and improvements at other schools.

Over the course of the regular school year, the purchasing and distribution team will also be called on to meet school needs. Gonzalez’s office is responsible for 36,000 purchase orders and 550 contracts each year. There’s also an internal mail service. The district's warehouse turns over $1 million in inventory every year.

“We pick up probably around 50 pieces of equipment or furniture a day on average,” Gonzalez said. “Half of it is junk. Half of half is surplus and the other half is going to another campus.”

New schools like Cullen Place Elementary School get new furniture.

“We don’t take any old furniture unless it’s an item donated by a parent or a memorial of some sort that goes with the school,” Gonzalez said.

For every other elementary school in the district, this provides an opportunity to see if what’s left behind might fill any needs at another campus. Principals walk through closed campuses to tag what they’d like to take. Any technology that can be removed and reused or recycled is saved. The facilities team will also come in to see if anything can be salvaged from AC units.

The emptied elementary schools have the same fate ahead of them as the old Cullen Middle School.

The district will demolish the old facilities to discourage any trouble that a vacant building might attract, with the exception of pavilions or playground equipment that is in good condition, which are left behind for community use.

The district will likely put together a bid package for demolition by September.

Then, the lots will stay empty as greenspace until the district needs a new school.

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Look behind the scenes as Corpus Christi ISD opens new schools