The Corpus Christi Independent School District has switched the location of the planned campus location for the new Mary Carroll High School.
In an emailed statement, district officials said the campus will be built at the corner of Saratoga Boulevard and Kostoryz Road. There is a 32-acre vacant tract of land at the southeast corner of that intersection, across from the Corpus Christi Natatorium. It’s unclear from the statement exactly where the new location will be.
“Local leaders, including those involved with the military community,have agreed that the location is in the best interest of Corpus Christi’s thriving community.” according to CCISD’s statement. “The district is glad to be a good neighbor.”
The location change comes months after scrutiny and concern from community leaders about a 60-acre tract of land CCISD purchased further east on Saratoga Boulevard near the intersection of Weber Road.
That drew concern from the U.S. Navy, which said portions of the proposed location were in the crash zone for its training pilots.
This isn’t the first time taxpayers have voted to rebuild Carroll High School. In 2010, voters passed a bond that was supposed to turn Carroll’s current campus on Weber Road into a middle school, and then build a new Carroll High School on Cimarron Boulevard.
However, CCISD board members voted to change that in 2013. The new campus became Veterans Memorial High School. Carroll High School remains operating out of its original building built in the 1950s.
The $175 million project will be built utilizing CCISD‘s $210 million bond measure approved by voters in November.
Staying in its original proposed location placed the district in the crosshairs of the military and other Corpus Christi leaders. The district was involved in discussions with the Navy, the South Texas Military Task Force’s executive committee and the mayor’s office in recent weeks.
The district says meetings will continue to discuss the design and construction of the school as well as key staff at Veterans Memorial High School, which used the same prototype. They hope to ensure the new campus “meets the needs of a modern, comprehensive high school education experience.”
More news will be coming soon that will provide a firm groundbreaking date and an updated project timeline about the completion of the new school.
We’ll have more about this breaking story throughout the day.
