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‘WE WANT A SCHOOL THERE’

Walnut Hill neighbors say concerns are going unheard by district

By Bethany Erickson

bethany.erickson@peoplenewspapers.com

Neighbors of Walnut Hill Elementary, anxious about its fate since a tornado struck it in 2019, are worried that Dallas ISD’s plans for the site are outsized for an area still reckoning with storm destruction and change.

The building would become one of four career institutes the district has started, offering training in various career paths for students in ninth through 12th grade.

The institute’s temporary digs at 13400 Midway Road in Farmers Branch offers training in aviation flight mechatronics, cybersecurity, construction and carpentry, electrical and solar, HVAC/R technology, interior design, and plumbing and pipefitting. By 2022, it would add automotive technology, culinary arts, health science, and welding.

We just want to have a hand in what it looks like and have a say in what we’re going to be living next to. Marla Hartsell

Neighbors around the tornado-ravaged former Walnut Hill Elementary site say Dallas ISD isn’t listening to their concerns about the size and scope of a proposed career institute.

(PHOTO: BETHANY ERICKSON)

“The DISD plans on saving the portions of the existing school that are salvageable from the tornado and add on a larger addition to repurpose the school into the Walnut Hill Career Institute,” according to the land use statement provided in the district’s zoning change application.

Students from Hillcrest, W.T. White, Thomas Jefferson, North Dallas, and Emmett J. Conrad high schools attend the school, which will offer a half-day of career instruction with the core curriculum courses taught at the students’ home high schools.

However, the campus’ neighbors object to the increase in building size and traffic plans for the former elementary school could bring. They’re opposing the district’s request for a zoning change from residential zoning to planned development.

“We want a school there,” said Marla Hartsell one Thursday evening before a weekly Zoom meeting with Walnut Hill residents. “We just want to have a hand in what it looks like and have a say in what we’re going to be living next to.”

A traffic plan submitted with the zoning request indicates that the school could have up to two groups of 800 students coming and going each day.

Hartsell said that many stakeholders, from neighbors to parents, were involved in design charrettes for the new pre-k through eighth-grade Walnut Hill School.

“And they have taken ownership of that school,” she said. “They feel like they really had a say and were heard. But they don’t have that same feeling about this school.”

Those meetings happened before the pandemic. When planning began for the career institute, Zoom calls replaced face-to-face meetings, and engagement was more difficult.

There have been information sessions and community meetings held, but Hartsell and her neighbors say it’s not the same. And they’re left wondering one thing:

“What’s the rush?” she said. “Now that things are opening back up, why not slow down and have a design charrette in person and really sell the neighbors on this?”

As it stands, the neighbors have been successful in lobbying the plan commission to delay a vote until another community meeting could be held. More than 850 have signed a petition against the rezoning circulated on Change.org.

Artfully Public

New city map helps neighbors find art wherever they are

Thanks to a city effort, finding art doesn’t have to mean a trip to the Arts District downtown — it can be as simple as looking around your neighborhood.

The city of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture worked with the Office of Data Analytics to create an interactive map of the public art available throughout the city.

“The public can view art installations with new, high-resolution images and detailed information about the installations,” the city announced. “Art is everywhere in Dallas, in libraries, parks, recreation centers, and more. This public-facing map of the OAC Public Art collection allows residents and visitors to explore Dallas for these Public Art pieces easily.”

Close to home, three art pieces appear on the map, two at firehouses and one at a local park.

Barrett C. DeBusk’s People at Play features steel figures at play around the park adjacent to Churchill Recreation Center. A red boy strums a guitar for a yellow girl perched on a bench, a yellow woman walks her yellow dog, and two red boys play a card game next to a green tree.

Dallas Fire Station 35, located on Walnut Hill Lane between Marsh Lane and Midway Road, is home to Elemental Forces, three limestone sculptures representing wind, water, and other elemental forces, created by Eliseo Garcia.

“Clearly visible from Walnut Hill Lane, these works can be enjoyed by those passing by in vehicles,” the city said.

Rex Kare’s stained glass work, Beacon, can be found at Fire Station 27 at Preston Road and Northwest Highway. The large piece is “an abstract take on fire and water, (and) includes bright flames and splashes that seem to be pixelated by thousands of square panels,” the city said.

City officials said that making art accessible to the public is good for the community and helps preserve public history and culture.

“With this new map, the OAC Public Art Program makes the work of many artists accessible and provides places to encourage arts and culture to thrive and grow citywide,” according to the announcement. “Everyone wants to know where art lives because art enriches our lives. If you look for it, you’ll find art actually is all around Dallas.” – Staff report

TOP: Elemental Forces, by Eliseo Garcia, sits at Fire Station 35, located at 3839 Walnut Hill Lane. People at Play, by Barrett C. DeBusk, can be found at the Churchill Recreation Center, located off of Churchill Way

and Hillcrest Road. (PHOTOS COURTESY

CITY OF DALLAS)

AN EYE FOR ART

Find public art near you on your smart phone or computer by going to www. dallasculture.org/publicartmap

“Susan’s connections helped us fi nd a home. She is incredibly plugged into the Dallas market and makes things happen. In a market like this, you need to use the best expert.”