Uvalde – The massacre at Robb Elementary School will be a permanent part of the Uvalde community’s history. But before the tragedy that left 19 students and two teachers dead in late May, it was a centerpiece for Mexican-Americans demanding equality in Uvalde.
The beautiful trees and playground outside the school can be credited to the Uvalde community back in the ‘60s.
Back then, the district denied requests for playgrounds and landscaping that were normal to the primarily white school, Dalton Elementary.
In response, a Robb Elementary teacher at the time, George Garza, took it upon himself to plant pecan trees and paid students a quarter to water the plants.
“Those were considered the schools for the Mexican-American, for the Mexicans. You know, that was the term back then, and just the resources, you know -- there was never money available,” George’s son, Ronald Garza, said.
The beauty of the campus was just one issue stemming from the segregated schools. Administrators and teachers at Robb were primarily white, teaching a majority of Spanish classes, so Spanish-speaking parents were frustrated by the lack of representation.
Ronald Garza, now a Uvalde County Commissioner representing Precinct 4, said his father was a middle man, passing along Spanish-speaking parents’ demands.
Ronald Garza said the superintendent at the time felt his authority was threatened by Garza’s father’s relationship with the community.
Ultimately, the board voted 6-to-1 not to renew George Garza’s teaching contract. The lone dissenter was the only Latino board member.
The decision sparked activism within the Uvalde community.
“The late Manuela Gonzalez, very active in our community, started chanting ‘walkout, walkout.’ The crowd kind of started chanting ‘walkout,’” Garza said.
The next day at school, nearly 300 students at Robb Elementary and some from the high school walked out, demanding more Hispanic educators and administrators.
Ronald Garza said his father filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against the district, but changes to the district did happen.
“That got the school district’s attention. They said, ‘Well, we need to hire a principal.’ So they -- some people get promoted to assistant principal, counselors,” Garza said.
Since then, the district has expanded employment opportunities for the people of Uvalde and created homegrown educators and administrators, Ronald Garza said.
Although the campus is now the site of the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, the story of Robb Elementary cannot be erased.
Garza said the building has sentimental value to him, but the future of the campus should focus on healing the community.
“It’s not really about me. It’s about the families, you know, who lost their children there. And it should be about them. The school should be torn down. Maybe a nice memorial there or a nice park,” Garza said.
The Uvalde school board announced the future of the campus would be put up for community discussion. The people KSAT spoke with around town said they hope it is transformed into a lasting memorial or a new community asset.
Maria Garcia said the building’s presence is nothing more than a reminder of a tragedy.
“I think that it would be a good thing to tear down the elementary, only because it’s, like, just a reminder for the families of the victims that passed away. As far as what to put on there, I don’t know. I just know that I know the families are, you know, still grieving, and it’s something that isn’t just going to be overnight,” Garcia said.
Others, like Federico Salmanca, said tearing down the building would be expensive and pointless because the location alone is haunting.
“Tearing it down is kind of extreme, I think. Unless they’re going to build a new school there, which I don’t see if that accomplishes anything, it’s still the same location,” Salmanca said.
Deanna Sawyer said she is sad that Uvalde will always be remembered for this massacre instead of what makes the community great. She said she hopes the campus will turn into something that speaks to the beauty of the Uvalde community.
“I just hope our community can come together and figure out how to move forward and make it a better place than it was before,” Sawyer said.
Currently, the district has not set up a way to gather community input.