On Tuesday evening, September 18, 2012, the Forney City Council authorized the City Manager to close on the purchase of the Booker T. Washington School building on the corner of Main Street and Chestnut Street. As one of the Council’s strategic objectives for the year, the purchase of the Booker T. Washington School building emphasizes the Council’s desire to preserve and promote the heritage and history of Forney.
On Tuesday evening, September 18, 2012, the Forney City Council authorized the City Manager to close on the purchase of the Booker T. Washington School building on the corner of Main Street and Chestnut Street. As one of the Council’s strategic objectives for the year, the purchase of the Booker T. Washington School building emphasizes the Council’s desire to preserve and promote the heritage and history of Forney.
The current building dates back to the 1950’s; however, the roots of the school date back to the 1890’s – long before desegregation. For the majority of its existence, the Booker T. Washington School served African-American student until the Supreme Courts declared segregation unconstitutional. According to Forney Historian, Jerry Flook, “…Booker T. Washington High School was closed at the end of the 1966-67 school year. Booker T. Washington continued as an elementary school for another year or so before being closed also. “
The first step for the City is to secure the building and cleanup the property. “In the short-term, our goal it to stop any additional deterioration of the building,” stated Forney Mayor Darren Rozell. “Our next step will be to look for community input as to the future use of the building.” The City Council has expressed a desire to turn the Booker T. Washington School into a community center.
The purchase of the property was made possible through the Community Benefit Fund. This fund was made possible by a generous grant from NextEra Energy (formerly FP&L). The City will be looking aggressively towards public and private grants to assist in the future development of the Booker T. Washington School.
