Only part of old ECMS will be saved
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

El Campo ISD trustees agreed last week on the fate of the soon-to-bevacated El Campo Middle School on MLK Boulevard, deciding some buildings should be demolished, others gutted but saved, and the entire property listed for sale.

Last month, after several meetings and a public hearing, a board subcommittee studying the fate of the old 17.8- acre middle school recommended that course of action. At the Dec. 18 meeting, trustees concurred unanimously.

Trustees Ralph Novosad, La Keta Jo Dennis and Cecil Davis formed the committee to determine the best strategy for disposing of the flood-prone property.

The board agreed to auction off surplus property, do demolition work, then list the property with a real estate agent for a sales price of $250,000.

Charles Grays spoke at the beginning of the meeting, pleading for the board to leave the old gym and other buildings intact, and asking to use the property for a variety of purposes. Grays is affiliated with the SOS Evolution Committee, which had asked the board to save the campus - the all-black E.A. Greer High School until desegregation took effect during the 1968-69 school year.

However, that group never came up with a viable financial plan to back their efforts.

ECISD trustees have stated repeatedly they have no interest in continued ownership of the campus, or being saddled with a facility they don't need that requires expensive upkeep.

The middle school plan adopted last week states it will be easier to market the property if the district quickly demolishes buildings A, C, D, E, the field house and concession stand.

The older gymnasium will only be demolished if the cost isn't too high, which may not be the case because the building is mostly concrete.

Buildings selected to be gutted are the new gym, cafeteria, Building B, the band hall and shop.

"The rationale for leaving these buildings is because of their construction," the committee's report states. "They have no load-bearing walls and could be gutted and used for equipment or other storage."

The board also went along with the committee's plan that all streets, paved parking, curbs, tennis courts and building slabs be left for either parking or for the district to store equipment. The football field's bleachers will be demolished, but the lighting on the field will be left intact.

In the bond issue to build the new middle school, $200,000 was included to demolish the old campus.

Superintendent Mark Pool has received a rough demolition cost estimate by phone of $214,000 for the work the committee proposes.

Because the district is unsure when it will occupy the new middle school on FM 2765, it did make a slight alteration to the plan, requiring demolition be completed no later than five months after the district vacates the property, rather than setting a firm date.