Houston school district proposes demolishing, rebuilding 4 storm-damaged schools

HOUSTON, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Houston officials are proposing to tear down four elementary schools ravaged by Hurricane Harvey and rebuild them, according to a plan unveiled Monday.

Students at the four schools from the Houston Independent School District (ISD) would return to elevated campuses on the same sites as the current facilities, according to the plan.

District officials aim to open the new campuses in January 2020. In the meantime, students at the shuttered schools will continue to attend classes at temporary locations.

The district's board of trustees is scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to approve funding for the 126-million-U.S.-dollar proposal.

If passed, the Houston ISD would become the first district in the region to approve the demolition of a school following Hurricane Harvey. All other local districts with heavily damaged schools have opted to repair existing buildings.

The four Houston schools sustained catastrophic flood damage after Harvey pummeled the Houston area in August, dropping record amounts of rain.

District officials decided to start from scratch due to the extent of the damage, the age of the buildings and the need to elevate the campuses to avoid future flooding. The campuses were built between 1956 and 1966. Enditem