West Texas State School

The West Texas State School (WTSS, originally the West Texas Children's Home of Pyote) was a juvenile detention facility operated by the Texas Youth Commission. It is located in unincorporated central Ward County, Texas, along the southwestern edge of Pyote. The facility, located on Interstate 20, was located between El Paso and Midland. The facility is about 17 miles (27 km) west of Monahans, 50 miles (80 km) west of Midland and Odessa, and 230 acres (93 ha) east of El Paso. The facility closed in 2010. Its official closure occurred by August 31, 2010.

The West Texas Children's Home of Pyote, a Texas Youth Council orphanage for neglected children, opened on the former Pyote Air Force Station in 1966. The 1979 closure of the Gatesville State School meant that some children who formerly lived in that correctional facility began to live in the West Texas Children's Home. In the 1980s the facility was converted into a juvenile detention facility for males. In 1993 fencing was added.

Prior to 2007 about 270 inmates lived in the state school and about 300 employees worked there. In 2007 investigative report by State Auditor John Keel recommended the closure of the facility, saying that it is too remote to sufficient employment bases.

By 2010 most of the employees at WTSS came from towns around Pyote such as Kermit, Monahans, and Pecos. The last student at the West Texas State School was transferred out of the institution on Friday May 28, 2010. On Tuesday June 1, 2010, the West Texas State School closed. In August 2010 TYC gave the lands back to University of Texas Lands.

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