The Richardson Independent School District decided more than a year ago to shut down a preschool that had served 4-year-olds. It also had been a dynamic, predominantly Latino, community hub.

And Andy Sommerman had a vision for the sprawling, colorful, now mostly quiet space.

The Dallas County commissioner thought portable buildings at the site could hold literacy classes, maybe some community programs.

Years earlier, Sommerman and then-District 11 Dallas City Council Member Jaynie Schultz had dreamed of a one-stop-shop resource center. Closing the Dobie Pre-Kindergarten School meant that a well-equipped space bigger than a NFL football field had become available in Dallas's historic Esperanza community .

It was among schools that the Richardson school district closed after budget strug

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