Demolition of 89-year-old University Park Elementary Begins; New School Will Open on Same Spot Next Year

UNIVERSITY PARK -- University Park Elementary School's demolition began Tuesday, nearly 90 years after it greeted its first students.The school, which opened in 1928, will be the first of three elementary schools in Highland Park ISD to be rebuilt within the next three years. Bradfield Elementary and Hyer Elementary will also be demolished and rebuilt. Jon Dahlander, HPISD spokesman, said earlier this year that the district has grown in the past 25 years from 4,000 students to 7,000 students. He said the district's elementary schools tried to accommodate the growth by adding wings and portables, but the schools were running out of land. The former home of the elementary school's longtime janitor, Jesus Gonzalez, will also be torn down along with the school's building. Gonzalez lived in a house on school property for the past 25 years.   Continue reading...