Editorial: Bus service highlights shortfall

Thursday, Aug. 19, 1999 | 9:51 a.m.

Currently the Clark County School District only provides bus service for those students who live more than two miles from school. The reason for this is simple: Given the limited resources to provide a decent education in the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the nation, the school district naturally has placed an emphasis on the funding inside a classroom instead of on transportation. While it is understandable that the school district faces a dilemma, that doesn't ease the frustration of some parents whose children are being forced to walk to school in dangerous conditions.

The existing two-mile limit admittedly is arbitrary and doesn't take into account extenuating circumstances. For instance, making a two-mile trek through the master-planned communities of Summerlin and Green Valley, which have abundant sidewalks, probably is statistically safer than a child walking one mile through a high-crime area with heavy traffic that lacks sidewalks and lighted traffic controls. Although the school district does grant exemptions to this two-mile policy, they are rare. On Monday, though, the School Board voted to provide bus service for students in the downtown area who live about one mile from the Crestwood Elementary School, citing the fact that the children were having to walk through an area with a high crime rate.

It was encouraging to see the School Board grant an exception, but the school district needs to reassess its two-mile policy to see if it should be scrapped and instead implement standards that factor in how much danger a child may be exposed to by not being provided bus service. Both pedestrian traffic hazards and dangerous crime-ridden areas must be accounted for when establishing a policy of which students get to ride a bus. Today's Las Vegas is dramatically different than that of 30, 20 and even 10 years ago. Walking a long distance to school, dodging cars and criminals, isn't something children should have to endure.

While the school district should re-examine its policy, the fact of the matter remains that it has been forced into adopting the two-mile standard because there aren't enough funds available. Deliberation on this and other more important education issues involving a larger contribution from state government -- such as more state funds to build schools -- will have to wait until the 2001 Legislature convenes. But parents and the school district should begin educating their state legislators and Gov. Kenny Guinn now about providing appropriate funding for urban school districts. No more studies are required to assess the unmet needs of the Clark County School District. It's time to make sure that children are safe as they venture to school and also have a decent building to learn in once they arrive.