Dallas City Wire

North Texans have joined the rest of the Lone Star State in participating in a fundraising campaign for the replacement of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde some 360 miles to the southwest, Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) NBC affiliate KXAS reported. 

Robb was the site of a mass shooting that claimed the lives of 19 students and two educators nearly a year ago.

The North Texas Commission (NTC) hosted the architect for the project, Huckabee Architects, and its namesake chief executive officer (CEO), Chris Huckabee, on Wednesday, April 26 to receive updates, the station reported.

The effort to build a new Robb after the current campus was permanently shuttered was launched by the nonprofit Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) Moving Forward Foundation, which was formed in the aftermath of the May 24, 2022, tragedy.

Former state Sen. Beverly Powell sits on the foundation’s board as its secretary, per KXAS.

“I think I began to think in that moment, what could you do?” Powell said. “What would be the thing you could get involved in, that you could do to help the town of Uvalde and to help these children move forward after such a tragic event?”

KXAS reported that the Moving Forward Foundation said close to 70% of its $60 million goal has been met, with the Metroplex philanthropic community setting its own goal of $25 million, counting Huckabee, Inc., Rainwater Charitable Foundation, The Meadows Foundation, VF Corp and The Morris Foundation among its top donors.

Foundation head Tim Miller told San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT that the school will be built “with plenty of natural light” and “calming” colors, San Antonio Standard reported. 

“They bring in the outside world into the campus,” Miller told KSAT, per the publication. 

Robb students and families had the opportunity to view the renderings for the future campus last month, which were approved by the UCISD school board.