Fort Worth-Based Architects, H-E-B, And Butt Family to Donate New Elementary School to Uvalde

From Staff Reports

Huckabee, a Fort Worth-based architecture firm that specializes in designing public schools, has committed to designing a new elementary school free of charge for Uvalde in the wake of the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary that killed 19 children and two teachers.

H-E-B and the Butt Family will donate $10 million to the Uvalde school district to fund the construction of the school. Joeris General Contractors will donate construction services for the project.

“Public schools are the foundation of a community,” Chris Huckabee, CEO of his eponymous architecture firm, said. “Our team is honored to partner with Joeris construction, the Butt family, H-E-B, and so many others to design a new facility that will honor Uvalde and serve its future generations.”

“At Joeris, our mission is to transform people and places. We are honored and humbled to be a part of this important effort to create a safe place where children can learn and grow and that gives this community hope for a brighter future,” said Gary Joeris, CEO of San Antonio-based Joeris, in a report from Fort Worth Magazine.

Donations for the new campus were given to the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District’s Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation. The foundation is the district’s nonprofit organization that is seeking donations to not only build a replacement for Robb Elementary, which will be razed for a memorial park, but to also make other schools in the district more secure.

Hal Harrell, Uvalde CISD superintendent, said the donation will help the community to heal. While incoming and existing Robb Elementary students will be moved to other campuses, Harrell says he hopes the new elementary school will open in 2024. The district plans to incorporate community input on the design of the new building.

H-E-B was founded by the family of Charles Butt, and the grocery chain opened their first store in Uvalde more than 60 years ago.

“Our first store in Uvalde opened in 1959, and Uvalde people are our people,” Butt said according to a report in the Texas Tribune. “As we continue to mourn tremendous loss, I join with my family and H-E-B in working to ensure the Uvalde community can move forward from this tragic event. Our children are this country’s future, and our schools should be a safe place where children can thrive and envision new possibilities.”