A move is underway to repurpose a former public school building in El Paso, with part of the structure and site being used as a new migrant shelter, and the other part given over to an animal shelter.
The building is the one-time Morehead Middle School at 5625 Confetti Drive, some 5 miles to the northwest of downtown El Paso. That school, a part of the El Paso Independent School District, was closed more than a year ago after its students were transferred to a just-built structure elsewhere in the district.
Since then, city officials, worried about an increase in migration numbers, have been looking at the one-story brick building as a possible temporary shelter facility.
Now, in a unanimous vote, members of the El Paso City Council have approved a proposal to buy the facility from the district for $3.8 million. That action followed a vote by members of the EPISD’s Board of Trustees to authorize selling the former Morehead building.
The building sits on a nearly 19-acre site that includes several other structures. The portion of the property to be turned into an animal shelter to be run by the city’s Animal Services division will also include an adjoining dog park.
The selling of the former Morehead school makes good financial sense for EPISD, which has been burdened in recent years with more than two dozen vacant facilities and a maintenance budget for those facilities in the neighborhood of around $300,000.
By Garry Boulard
