A map of the U.S. painted on the basketball court at the former Pease Elementary School in downtown Austin has seen better days. The vibrant colors have faded. Even Texas is a muddled mix of yellow and gray.
But Austin ISD has a plan to breathe new life into the historic campus that's been closed for nearly five years. The school board voted unanimously last month to lease Pease to United Way for Greater Austin. The decision came nearly a year and a half after the board approved a proposal to partner with the nonprofit to open a child care center at Pease.
The initial term of the lease is 10 years and can be renewed for another 40. United Way aims to open the early childhood education center in 2027 with the capacity for about 130 kids from ages 6 weeks to 5 years old. Children of Austin ISD employees and families will get priority.
The chance to reopen Pease was a welcome development for School Board President Lynn Boswell.
“It’s been a school since the 1870s. There aren’t very many places you can say have been a campus for 150 years and that building needs kids in it,” she said.
Pease is one of four elementary schools the board made the decision to shutter after the 2019-20 school year in an effort to save money. The other three were Brooke, Metz and Sims.
Turning Pease into a child care center is part of a broader initiative at Austin ISD to find new uses for former schools and other properties it owns. Another site the district is repurposing — the Anita Ferrales Coy Facility in East Austin — is going to be developed into housing. When it comes to Pease Elementary though, Austin ISD was more limited in what it could do because of the building’s history.
Pease must be used for educational purposes
Pease Elementary first opened in 1876 with 200 students. More than 130 years later the campus became a registered Texas Historical Landmark in 2013.
Jennifer Chenoweth, the division manager at the Austin History Center said, until its closure, Pease was the longest continually operating school in Texas. The center has a treasure trove of materials from the school’s long history, from photographs and student writing samples to instructions on how to be a good sport.
Chenoweth’s interest in Pease’s history is not just professional, though. It’s personal. All four of her children went to school there, though it closed after her daughter finished second grade. She said at the time, the closure was hard.
“That just really erased a really thriving culture of very diverse families that came together for a really quality education and a sense of community,” she said.
Chenoweth said she is looking forward to Pease once again serving families, especially by providing affordable child care to families who work downtown.
“I’d be really happy to see kids back in it playing on those wonderful playgrounds under the trees,” she said.
Jeremy Striffler, the district’s director of real estate, said that was a sentiment he heard repeatedly as Austin ISD worked on a plan to repurpose Pease.
“We heard loud and clear from the beginning when any conversation started that we wanted to honor that legacy and how could we get students back in the building,” he said.
The State of Texas also requires the campus to be used for “public educational purposes.” The condition was included in a bill the Texas Legislature passed in 1971 that transferred the title for Pease to Austin ISD.
While Pease’s history is part of what makes the school special to families like Chenoweth’s, the age of the building means prepping it to become a child care center comes with a hefty price tag.
To help with the cost, Striffler said Austin ISD applied for and was awarded a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He said the district still anticipates receiving the funding amid the Trump administration’s efforts to freeze and cut federal spending. The plan is to use those funds to remediate the building, Striffler said.
“And make other improvements to the mechanical systems, the roof, etc., to then make way for United Way to start renovating,” he added.
United Way will be shouldering the majority of the costs associated with opening a child care center at Pease.
United Way to invest millions in Pease project
United Way’s outgoing CEO David C. Smith said the nonprofit plans to raise $18 million to renovate Pease, which it is leasing from Austin ISD for $1 per year. Smith noted his successor Ingrid Taylor, who takes over as CEO in March, led United Way’s effort to open the center at Pease.
“So, it’s an investment in the long term work of the United Way and it’s an investment in the long term support of what will end up being thousands and thousands of families over the years,” he said.
Once the United Way has renovated Pease it will house the organization’s offices, an early learning advancement center to train other child care providers in Central Texas on best practices and the child care center. United Way has tapped Goodwill Central Texas to run the day-to-day operations of the child care center.
Smith added investing resources in early childhood education is important because research has shown high-quality programs help kids gain key skills for school, from reading and math proficiency to developing positive relationships. That sets them up for success later in life.
“It’s a win, win, win,” he said. “It’s a win for business, it’s a win for families and it’s a win for children.”
Smith said opening this center will also help address the ongoing need for affordable child care in Austin.
“Child care is the second most expensive line item on a family’s budget, it’s right under housing,” he said.
The Austin area has the most costly child care in Texas. Just last year, Travis County voters approved a measure to raise property taxes to fund affordable child care. Smith said the exact pricing of the forthcoming center at Pease hasn’t been worked out yet but the goal is to address the affordability crisis. According to Austin ISD, the program will accept public child care subsidies and have a sliding-scale for tuition.
Striffler underscored the need for affordable child care, especially for Austin ISD teachers and staff. He said the child care center at Pease will also prepare the next generation of Austin ISD students.
“They’re going to be getting them kindergarten ready, which means that when they hopefully all come to Austin ISD they’re ready for continued academic success,” he said.
