As she walked past the theater arts room at Browne Middle School on May 7, Adriana Morales paused to share a memory with her family — this is where she watched the second plane crash into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
The teacher had rolled a television into the classroom for the students to watch the news.
It was the first time Morales had been back to Browne Middle School since she moved on to high school. It’s also likely the last time she’ll return to her former middle school.
At the end of the school year in just a few weeks, the school will close. The Corpus Christi Independent School District is closing seven campuses: Browne, Haas and Martin middle schools and Sanders, Travis, Fannin and Kostoryz elementary schools.
Browne, Haas and Martin middle schools and Sanders Elementary School each held community walk-through events on May 7. The remaining closing campuses will hold similar events this month.
Visitors to Browne Middle School were greeted with an old-school decentralized campus, with separate buildings connected by sidewalks and grassy courtyards. The campus is a remainder from a time before school districts across the state began prioritizing single-building, closed campuses.
Just down the road, Sanders Elementary School is another relic of a bygone era. Back in the 1960s, when the school was built, open-concept schools were the fad.
Corpus Christi ISD eventually closed the open spaces designed to hold multiple classes at once, adding in walls. But due to the constraints of that original building footprint, walking from one classroom still leads you straight into another at Sanders Elementary School to this day.
Why Corpus Christi ISD is closing the schools
But these design features aren’t why Corpus Christi ISD is closing these schools, at least not solely. During community meetings held before the school board officially voted to close the campuses this spring, district leaders cited districtwide financial challenges and migration patterns within the city.
By consolidating aging, costly-to-maintain facilities in areas of town where neighborhoods aren’t experiencing growth, the district hopes to save money and decrease a looming budget deficit.
The last attempt by Corpus Christi ISD to win voter approval for a bond package to replace several campuses failed in 2024.
But despite maintenance woes on their campuses, countless families told district leaders they wished their neighborhood school would remain open during the community meetings this spring.
Community members share memories
Months later, the mood at the community walk-through events is bittersweet. Many attendees were happy to share their memories, but sad to see the schools close.
Sanders Elementary School Principal Marcos Aguilera grew up down the street from Sanders, attended the school, and, after he returned to lead the school in 2021, thought it would be where he’d eventually retire.
“This school is more than just a building,” Aguilera said. “It’s been a place where relationships were built, where students grew into leaders and where staff became family.”
Sanders Elementary School is where teacher Amy Furr has worked for 19 of her 20 years teaching.
It’s also where she found her dog Phoebe, a stray who wandered onto campus.
Back in 2007, her kindergartners donated a signed book to the library. The librarian found the book a few years ago. Another time, a group of graduating seniors whom she’d taught as fourth graders pointed out her high heels when they visited the campus in their caps and gowns.
It meant a lot that the students remembered her so well years later, including her footwear.
At the Sanders event, families signed a poster and were invited to share memories for inclusion in a book about the school that will be donated to Corpus Christi Public Libraries.
Numerous boxes have already been packed, with supplies destined for continued use at other Corpus Christi ISD campuses. The school also decided to give away some items.
At Browne Middle School, class photos, yearbooks and scrapbooks lined the cafeteria, which, according to one former student, smelled exactly the same. Attendees could also take home free excess library books.
In the gym, the athletic department was selling surplus athletic uniforms and merchandise. It’s a way for former students to get a piece of Browne history, coach Jesse Gonzalez said.
Students at each of the closing schools will be rezoned. Teachers and staff also have the option to remain employed by the school district, in many cases moving to the same campus as students from their old school.
“Though these doors may close, what we’ve built here doesn’t end,” Aguilera said. “It simply moves forward.”
How to attend other community events at closing schools
Here’s when the remaining school closure tours are scheduled:
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Communities say goodbye to closing Corpus Christi schools
Reporting by Olivia Garrett, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
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