Program to begin for school kids

Friday, Sept. 24, 1999 | 11:11 a.m.

Beginning in November, a triple-wide trailer across from Guy Elementary School in North Las Vegas will provide another alternative for parents who have elementary-school children on track break.

Mary Stanley-Larsen, spokeswoman for the Clark County School District, estimates that as many as 20 percent of elementary-school children are out of school at any given time, due to five different track break schedules. Children in the year-round schedule attend school for 60 days and then are on break for 15 days. They still complete the required 180 days of school, she said.

The track-break program will give children a safe place to go while their parents are at work, said Jim Stritchko, recreation manager for the North Las Vegas Parks and Recreation Department, which is running the program.

Stritchko, who said the target date for opening the program is Nov. 2, said the trailer can accommodate up to 80 children at one time, offering a variety of activities from crafts to sports. It will operate from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, with a cost of $55 a week per child. The cost for each additional child is $50.

Las Vegas has operated a similar program since the mid-1980s.