CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Corpus Christi Independent School District School Board decided in a 5-2 vote Monday to demolish the old Mary Carroll High School campus.
This decision comes after administration said the campus has been the target of consistent vandalism. CCISD Superintendent Roland Hernandez said that the campus has to be regularly supervised by Corpus Christi police.
However, not all board members were in agreement.
"If we're going to honor our voters, they voted to repair that school," CCISD District 3 board member Marty Bell said, against the demolition of the old campus.
Bell said the $2 million demolition cost could go toward renovating other campus facilities. He said that the building still had valuable use to the public.
"Essentially the whole right side of Carroll High School is brand new," Bell said.
Fellow CCISD District 4 board member Dolly Trolley said the discussions on the matter have run their course.
"We need to pick a vote on this and move forward," she said.
CCISD Executive Director of Construction and Project Management Trent Wagner said frequent break-ins coupled with high operating costs have made the old campus more trouble than it's worth.
"Continued maintenance, roofing, things of that nature that we would actually have to keep manpower to go up there, security and things like that," he said.
While the decision was voted on Monday, Wagner said that the plans proceeding the vote were discussed in special workshops, and don't just happen overnight.
"Pick and choose what our most important needs are," he said. "We also take into effect, you know, our major capital upgrades that we really would like to have for the district itself."
Wagner said that the mural on the old campus will be preserved before demolition begins. He said that it was too early to know exactly what will happen to it. The pickle ball courts next to the school will also still be in place.