Brownsville school sale tied to accreditation for Gladys Porter Zoo

Talks between the city of Brownsville and the Brownsville Independent School District about the city acquiring Cummings Middle School for a vital expansion of Gladys Porter Zoo have progressed to the point that the three entities held a press conference Wednesday to highlight a potential deal.

BISD hosted the event at its administration building. Delivering remarks were zoo Executive Director Pat Burchfield, BISD Superintendent Jesus Chavez, Brownsville Mayor John Cowen Jr., BISD Board of Trustees President Jessica Gonzalez, city commissioners Roy De los Santos and Bryan Martinez, and City Manager Helen Ramirez.

Brownsville’s zoo is not only the city’s biggest tourist draw but also known around the country for its successful breeding program to conserve endangered species. Accreditation by the national Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) allows it to pursue that mission. AZA standards are continually evolving, however, and Gladys Porter has been told it must modernize and expand some of its major exhibits in order to maintain accreditation.

That’s why the city and the zoo need BISD’s property across East Ringgold Street — the former Cummings Middle School campus, now the home of BISD’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) center. The plan is for BISD to move its CTE program to a newer, larger facility that would enable the district to expand its CTE offerings and accommodate more students. The city has paid for a feasibility study to look at potential options and associated costs.

Burchfield said an AZA inspection of the zoo in 2018 identified several areas that “required significant improvements, expansion or in some cases demolition and replacement.”

“It was the consensus of the AZA accreditation commission that many of our exhibits lacked the space and environmental complexity to meet the socio-biological needs of our large animals,” he said.

The zoo’s exhibits for gorillas, African wild dogs, lions and tigers, mandrills and bears were on that list, as was its Small World exhibit, Burchfield said. AZA re-accredited the zoo in 2018 thanks to a preliminary master plan developed by the city, the zoo board and staff, he said.

“More recently, in advance of 2024 accreditation inspection, and with support of the city of Brownsville, the zoo commissioned an exceptional master plan crafted by international zoo-design experts PJA Architects of Seattle,” Burchfield said.

The new plan includes a completely redeveloped Small World, which will entail temporarily relocating its residents to the new La Huasteca exhibit, phase two of which is now under construction, he said.

That impressed this year’s AZA team, as did the plan’s zip line, nearly complete, Burchfield said. Necessary improvements already completed include a new outdoor exhibit for the zoo’s Angola colobus monkeys, a totally re-engineered life support system for the Russell Aquatic Ecology Center, and the transformation of a cramped bear exhibit into a “spacious, dynamic North American river otter habitat,” he said.

The zoo again received re-accreditation in March, this time on the strength of the new master plan — which the zoo must stick to stay accredited, Burchfield said.

“Our status remains contingent upon our continued adherence to the master plan,” he said. “A progress report is due by the end of 2024. It was made clear by the (AZA) commission that that the previous and future city and community support and ongoing momentum toward meeting modern zoological standards will be crucial to our maintaining accreditation.”

Losing AZA accreditation would mean the end of the zoo’s endangered species breeding program, Burchfield noted, adding that “we do need to show progress.”

A new home for BISD’s CTE program is the other big piece of the deal. BISD Superintendent Chavez noted that Cummings is “an older facility” not originally designed for CTE. The middle school opened in 1951.

“We’ve made modifications to it, but in my estimation we can do better,” he said. “We can do better for our students. We can do better for our community.”

Chavez said he wants to be able to expand CTE in addition to providing a better facility for students.

“What’s wrong with doubling the size of the programs that we offer for our students? There’s a need. I know our industry has that need,” he said.

Chavez said the district will get a fair price from the city for the Cummings property.

City Manager Ramirez said the city has approved certificate of obligation bonds to be able to purchase the Cummings property for “fair market value.” A public meeting on the Cummings deal/zoo project is scheduled for next Wednesday from 4-7 p.m., at the zoo’s Discovery Education Center, she said.

“We do invite everyone to … get a better picture of what we’re looking at here,” Ramirez said.

Mayor Cowen said the city is committed to helping get BISD’s CTE program into a new, state-of-the-art facility, and that he supports the overall deal only if it benefits all parties.

“We want to make sure BISD is made whole on their property and any cost associated with relocating their CTE programs and making it hopefully a better structure for their program,” he said.

“With everything happening in Brownsville, with all the growth that we’re having, it is incumbent upon us to make sure that (the zoo) is protected, and that we work with BISD to make sure that their interests are protected as well. … I’m happy to be here and be at the table to make sure this gets done.”

BISD board President Gonzalez said the Cummings sale would benefit BISD’s students and the entire community, that the CTE project is “long overdue” and that the board is excited to be working together with the city.

“Together is exactly how we will get things done in this community,” she said. “We have a waiting list for the (CTE) programs we have now, so on that alone we have expand. And if we have the opportunity to add more, that would be fantastic.”

At a special meeting after the Wednesday press conference, BISD’s board by a 7-0 vote approved a motion agreeing to the basic deal points that will be used to draft the pertinent legal agreements, which will then be presented for approval to the BISD board and city commission.

Burchfield said he’s thrilled that a way forward has been found to enable the zoo to stay accredited, though he’s even more excited about the future of Brownsville and “seeing entities working together.”

“This has been a unique experience, to see the school district working with the city of Brownsville,” he said. “It was a wonderful collaborative effort.”

Here’s the latest update: 

Brownsville ISD gives initial approval to Cummings property sale to city