SAN ANTONIO — It's a mound of rubble looks like trash now but it’s the site of treasured memories of moments lived more than 20 years ago.
The original Beacon Hill Elementary School on Ashby Rd was demolished Wednesday morning after two decades of being unused. The San Antonio Independent School District community decided to tear it down.
Former students, who are now parents in the district, agreed that it’d be best to clear the area for their children to have access to a safer, green play space near the new school next door, the Beacon Hill Academy.
“We tried to save it, but there was no other option,” said Amanda Gonzales, former Beacon Hill student. “This is going to be real beneficial to us in the long run.”
Parents said they didn’t remember much about the textbook lessons from 25 to 30 years ago but they never forgot the life lessons they picked up from their favorite teachers.
“Our teachers taught us that we were going to inherit this community and that’s why this was a community movement,” said Devyn Gonzales. “It wasn’t just us deciding to tear down a school.”
Some parents weren’t as optimistic about the changes.
Rick Nuncio reminisced about his adventures with classmates, his favorite teachers and fistfights he got into close by. He said all those experiences made him the man he is today and by tearing down the school, the community is tearing down those memories.
“I’m totally against them doing this,” he said. “I don’t know why they didn’t just leave [the building] up and use it for something else. I get that kids need a play place and I want that for them but we used to play right outside of this building all the time growing up.”
The district expects the changes to be completed before the new school year begins on Monday, August 12.