Older schools enjoy face lift

Benjamin Grove

Wednesday, Sept. 9, 1998 | 10:49 a.m.

Gragson Elementary School principal Lee Douglass proudly strolls the newly painted hallways of her school, one of dozens now under renovation in Clark County. Painters at the school are covering drab brown walls with a bright white finish.

"This school has never been renovated," Douglass said. "I don't think it's even been painted."

Douglass guided several reporters on tours of the remodeling work Tuesday, National School Modernization Day. Local and national school officials took the opportunity to sound off on fixing the nation's crumbling schools.

"I'm tired of visiting schools that are falling down while down the street stands an immaculate new prison," U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley said Tuesday during a stop at a Maryland elementary school.

Riley appeared with President Clinton for speeches that were carried live via satellite at UNLV. Clinton is plunging ahead with his effort to rally public support for his education proposals as personal problems continue to threaten his presidency.

Clinton is asking Congress in its last month to approve:

A 1995 General Accounting Office report put a $112 billion pricetag on upgrading and retro-fitting the nation's aging schools.

In Clark County, school officials are overseeing 243 renovation projects paid for with local tax money raised in voter-approved 1994 and 1996 school bond referenda. About half those projects are done, according to district statistics.

At 20-year-old Gragson, an eight-month renovation will outfit the school's 48 classrooms with new paint and carpets as well as new, brighter lights and upgraded wiring for Internet access. Construction is scheduled to start next month on a new eight-classroom addition for the crowded school.

School district officials are urging voters in November to approve a property tax freeze that would raise $2.5 billion, of which $854 million is earmarked for older school improvements like those at Gragson.

Clark County Schools Superintendent Brian Cram said he appreciates Clinton's efforts to funnel federal dollars to school districts.

"But we can't be passive," Cram said. "We're going to do our part, too."