Kingsville Independent School District faculty, staff and students gathered at Kleberg Elementary School to prepare for its grand reopening later this month.The district began consolidating schools in 2021 to cut costs and addre ss declining enrollment, leaving Kleberg Elementary empty. Now the school is set to reopen for the new school year.Starting at 9 a.m., volunteers worked throughout the building organizing books in the library, decorating classrooms and unloading supplies. KISD prepares to reopen Kleberg Elementary School this monthPrincipal Nicole Lovelady said she was so eager to get started that she arrived at the school at 6:30 a.m. to prepare for her team."I woke up at 2 o'clock this morning and so I said, nope, I can't come to school at 2 o'clock. So I was here at 6:30 this morning to prep for our team to get here," Lovelady said.Lovelady said it was a community effort unlike anything she has seen in her 8 years at the district."This is a very unique opportunity that hasn't happened. But because it has, I have seen just these people come out of the woodwork to help make the school ready," Lovelady said.Students from the surrounding area also pitched in to help prepare the school."We saw these benches and we didn't want them people to be sitting on them like they're all dirty," Skylar said.Another student said the sense of community drew her to volunteer."Everyone else seems to be helping out here and we just wanted to be a part of something and do something nice," Kaylee said.The event brought the district together as they prepare for the grand reopening ahead of the new school year.A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on Aug. 13 at 9 a.m.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today! ...read more read less