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Former Administration Building opened in 1964

It turned 60-years-old this year, but now it’s gone.

91��Ƭ��’s former James W. Counts Administration Building on Pioneer Parkway has been demolished. All that’s left to do is tear out the foundation and remove the rubble.

“It’s bittersweet to see this building being torn down,” said Cameron Garcia, an 91��Ƭ�� administrative assistant in research and accountability who worked in the old admin building for eight years. “What I’ll miss most is the camaraderie and team spirit we shared in the northwest hallway.”

The building opened in 1964 and was renamed J.W. Counts in 1986 after the former superintendent. Counts was also a basketball coach at Arlington High School before he became the principal at Speer Elementary in 1951. The WWII Navy veteran served as the district’s superintendent from 1979-1985

J. W. Counts will be memorialized at the new 91��Ƭ�� Administration Building along with other retired facility namesakes like Guy C. Hutcheson (junior high school), Veda Knox (elementary school), Maude V. Roark (elementary school) and Jack and Alexa Roquemore (elementary school).

The Counts Administration Building – home to the district’s board room and central administration offices for decades – had actually been empty for several years. The building had become much too small and too old, and 91��Ƭ�� moved the majority of its administrative offices and board room to the current Administration Building on Lamar Blvd. in the fall of 2021.

The district already owned the current Administration Building – known as Enterprise Centre prior to the move – and used funds from the 2019 Bond to renovate it and add a boardroom. The new location is much larger than the Counts Building and allows for most academic services departments to reside in the same location.

Though the old admin building is gone, 91��Ƭ�� plans to hang on to the property on Pioneer Parkway.

“While the building is in the process of being razed currently, the existing site has incredible value to the district,” said Kelly Horn, 91��Ƭ�� assistant superintendent of facility services. “Its ultimate use has not been fully determined.”