A new elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, is now closer to having its first day of classes thanks to a $10 million donation.
On Tuesday, the Kate Marmion Charitable Foundation donated $10 million to the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Moving Forward Foundation — a nonprofit helping raise money and develop plans for the new campus — and committed to matching an additional $5 million in donations. Marmion and the other founders of her foundation graduated from Uvalde schools.
The president of the donating foundation, Dolph Briscoe IV, said the donation is a sign of its commitment to "honoring the victims and survivors of the tragedy that occurred two years ago, and our board hopes the new school will continue a process of support, remembrance and healing for the community."
Former Robb Elementary teacher Elsa Avila did not return to the classroom after being shot during the 2022 mass shooting that claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers. But she said she's happy that the town and its residents are closer to having the new school.
"Our children deserve a new campus for their piece of mind and for the community to move forward," Avila said.
RELATED STORY | Trove of documents, 911 calls from Uvalde shooting massacre released after media legal fight
According to the Moving Forward Foundation, the new campus will be equipped with security cameras and include controlled access as well as a secured interior courtyard. Avila hopes the new school will also be equipped with metal detectors to ensure everyone's safety, after she learned that a student bought a BB gun to school.
On Monday, Uvalde CISD Superintendent Ashley Chohlis said a third grader at Flores Elementary School brought a BB gun to school and pointed it at another student during bus pick-up. She said adults intervened and that the BB gun was not loaded.
"It was fashioned like a handgun, and I'm very sorry to have to report this," Chohlis said in a video released on YouTube on Monday.
Avila, who's working with a therapist to recover from the trauma of the mass shooting that changed her small town, said the incident is triggering.
"It was just a terrible feeling like it could have happened again, another tragedy," Avila said.
RELATED STORY | Uvalde school officer pleads not guilty to failing to protect children during deadly 2022 shooting
After dedicating 30 years of her life to teaching, Avila decided not to return to the classroom after the tragedy and formally retired in May 2024. She said stepping on campus is still too painful and that the images she reviewed of the new campus, showing walls and doors made of glass, were concerning.
"It doesn't feel safe to me," she said.
Avila, who has two sisters working at Uvalde CISD, also worries about the future. Although she said the campus is needed and the donation is a heartfelt gesture, she is particularly concerned with the expenses tied to a new school.
"They're getting donations to build the school, but is our district going to be able to maintain… such a high-tech new campus when right now they are struggling to maintain the campuses that we have?" Avila said. "There have been a lot of staff cuts, larger classroom sizes, less staff."
The new campus is expected to open in fall 2025.
