Texas school district purchases 15.9 acres, expanding its wetland learning 'classroom'

    CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (KRIS) -- On Friday Sept. 7, Flour Bluff ISD (FBISD) closed on 15.9 acres expanding their wetland property on Laguna Shores Drive.

The board approved the $760,000 purchase 7-0 without public comment. FBISD Superintendent Chris Steinbruck said public comment time was available, but nobody showed up for it.

"We posted what we were doing in the agenda. What we were doing like we always do. Flour Bluff ISD prides itself with being transparent and being transparent and communicating and accepting feedback from the community," Steinbruck said.

According to the Nueces County Appraisal District, the property is valued at just over $610,000. Steinbruck said that the property was appraised by a professional appraiser at $810,000.

"The sales price of the property was $1.2 million. So we worked really hard with the seller. The seller acknowledged and recognized the negative impact a development would have on our program," Steinbruck said.

The superintendent said the money will come out of the district's fund which he says has a balance of $20 million.

In the spring of 2023, the district implemented a hiring and spending freeze. So KRIS 6 News reporter Tony Jaramillo asked Steinbruck how Flour Bluff justifies buying the property with those restrictions.

"There's a delicate balance there between balancing that budget but at the same time, there's an expectation for our community about the type of education that we provide for our students," Steinbruck said.

Steinbruck said at this time there is no plans to build anything on the land, but they will look to partner with different groups like the Texas A&M Harte Research Institute to continue their outdoor learning.