Bond protesters assail School Board

Teresa Hinds

Wednesday, Oct. 23, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

They came dressed in black and waved red handkerchiefs to show their displeasure with the 1996 school bond campaign.

About 20 people gathered at Tuesday's Clark County School Board meeting and demanded fiscal accountability and equity from the board.

"I am here to oppose the 1996 bond," said Marzette Lewis, a West Las Vegas community activist. "You must stop the waste of our money. You're stealing the money, you're taking the money and you're burying the money.

"You have not given us (West Las Vegas) any seats with the $605 million bond (from 1994), and now you're asking us to pass another $643 million bond? You must think we're crazy," she said.

Seven other speakers joined Lewis in opposing the bond.

Wanda Rosenbaum, who helped organize the 1994 Bond Oversight Committe, told the board, "I will oppose the bond until this school district has an independent audit of all its departments.

"The farcical public relations campaigns need to stop. If you want the bond to pass, go out and tell the people how you're saving money," she said.

Rosenbaum also took the School Board to task for not closely following the recommendations of the oversight committee on siting schools, claiming, "you don't listen to us."

Another speaker, Anthony Snowden, criticized the School Board for not siting more schools in the West Las Vegas community.

"I see the money focused in the Green Valley and the Spring Valley area, and that's not fair," he said. "We want to take a step out of the 1930s and move forward into the future. Do the right thing."

Joseph Jackson expressed frustration over the school district asking for another bond issue to be passed before seeing results from the 1994 bond.

"How do you expect people to put up money for a school bond when those schools you promised us (from the 1994 bond) still haven't been built?"

One audience member traveled from Boulder City to protest the bond.

"I'm from Boulder City and we have a school that is falling apart. We haven't gotten anything from the 1994 bond," said Camille Suarez.

"You people want another bond passed? I'll tell you right now, all the people I talk to in Boulder City are voting no."