Highland Park ISD Considers Razing 2 Elementary Schools
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A Highland Park ISD committee is recommending tearing down two elementary schools, in a move that's a first of its kind in North Texas.
It claims knocking down the schools and rebuilding them is a solution to overcrowding.
"I think it is absolutely an idea that needs to be examined and thought about," said HP Superintendent Dawson Orr.
The committee also proposes renovating all schools, expanding athletic facilities and adding underground parking and another elementary school.
"Bold… bolder than anything they've ever done before," one board member told CBS11 News about the plan.
A committee of citizens spent seven months putting the proposal together and pitched it Thursday night to board members.
It calls for demolition crews to raze University Park Elementary first, then Bradfield Elementary a year later.
Students would attend a brand new campus off Northwest Highway while their respective schools are built from the ground up.
After three years, a new facility would stand as the district's fifth elementary.
Under an ambitious proposal every other school in the district would undergo renovations to make room for a growing student population.
The projects could cost $236 million to $297 million, which is enough to raise taxes on a $1 million home by about $100 a month.
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