Inventive educators get schools up and running

Teresa Hinds

Tuesday, Aug. 26, 1997 | 9:30 a.m.

Necessity is the mother of invention, as many Clark County School District teachers and administrators found out on the first day of school.

Numerous schools experienced malfunctions with their bell systems, which forced educators to find creative ways to announce the end of class periods and lunch time.

Fred Smith, the district's assistant superintendent for facilities, said the problems were confined to six new and rehabilitated schools. However, a random check of older schools throughout the district turned up several that also experienced difficulties.

At one of the district's new schools, West Middle, administrators walked through the school hallways with megaphones announcing class and lunch breaks.

The staff knew on Saturday the bell system would not be hooked up for the first day of school, so staff purchased six Power Horns from Radio Shack. The devices are a combination megaphone and siren.

Principal Lois Venger had her staff synchronize their watches and stationed someone at each classroom wing with a two-way radio and a Power Horn.

A predetermined signal was transmitted via the two-way radios at scheduled times and Power Horn sirens blasted all through the school simultaneously.

Venger said the school bell system isn't scheduled to be up and running until about the third week of September. Until then, she said, they'll continue to use the Power Horn, which she described as having a "perfectly obnoxious tone."

The school also had to improvise at lunch time since hoods over stoves and ranges did not pass inspection. Pizza was brought in for the students, which Venger said was well received. "Children always love pizza," she said.

Things were a lot quieter over at Palo Verde High School in Summerlin.

"We don't have any clocks, an intercom system and no bells activated in the school yet, so basically we just synchronized our watches and moved kids" when class periods are over, according to Assistant Principal Bob Johns. "We really went back to the basics."

Palo Verde also had problems with its kitchen. Johns said the kitchen was not open today because of last-minute inspections, which he reported the facility passed.

Lunch for 1,200 students and about 80 staff was provided by the Howard Hughes Corp., developer of Summerlin.

Old-fashioned watch synchronization was also employed at Pittman Elementary, which will be used until the bell system is hooked up probably on Wednesday, according to Principal Linda Gross.

A two-way radio was also assigned to each "pod" area at the campus to broadcast school announcements. A pod has four classrooms with interfacing doors.

The bell system at Woodbury Middle School was down most of the morning. Assistant Principal Joe Murphy reported that the school intercom system was used to announce class ending and lunch times.

Mojave High School had a bell system, you just couldn't hear it, said Principal Gail Dixon.

"We put everybody out in the hall and walked around and just yelled," Dixon said. "It worked for us, although I'd prefer not to do it on a regular basis."

Clark High School, one of the older schools that did not go through any modernization work, also had problems with its bell system.

Classes start 10 minutes earlier this year than last, Principal Wayne Tanaka said, "and unfortunately it had to be changed today. Sometimes the best-laid plans. ..."

Tanaka said the switchboard operator was manually activating the bell system. Add to that the "occasional" testing of the automated system and Tanaka said it made for a bit of confusion.

"We now know the Edgar Allen Poe poem, 'The Bells,'" he joked.