High school jam

Terry Webster

Monday, Sept. 11, 2000 | 11:32 a.m.

Durango High School students Leonard Allen and Stephanie Elkins turned their backs on teacher Mark Azevedo in his U.S. Government class.

It wasn't by choice.

The two seniors were sitting at a table facing the wall instead of their teacher because there weren't enough desks.

With 48 students beginning the school year in his class, Azevedo himself has limited mobility. His classroom is so filled with desks, there is little space for him to walk around.

The 2000-2001 school year is two weeks old, and some schools already are feeling the strain of crowded conditions. Total enrollment in the district, the nation's sixth largest, is expected to exceed 231,000 students this year.

Durango is not the only school bursting at the seams. Clark County School District officials won't know how many schools are over capacity until the end of the month, when official student enrollment counts should be completed.

And the school district is in overdrive trying to keep up with the area's rapid growth. Ten new schools are opening this year, but that's barely enough.

At Durango, the squeeze reaches beyond the classrooms.

Limited road access to the school and high traffic volume makes it an event to get into the school in the morning, Assistant Principal Dawn Shupe said. Because 18 portable classrooms are taking up space in a staff parking lot, parking is limited.

Students don't even get a lunch break -- technically. They get a nutrition break.

"We have a 28-minute nutrition break after fourth period," Shupe said. "The cafeteria is standing room only and we have 12 food carts that go around."

Located near Rainbow Boulevard and Russell Road in the southwest part of the Las Vegas Valley, Durango is shaping up as one of Clark County's three largest high schools. Silverado High School in the southeast and Green Valley High School in Henderson are the other two.

"It's a tremendous burden for schools in general," Shupe said. "There aren't enough textbooks and some classes don't have enough computers for the number of students they have."

Students and administrators say there are just doing the best they can.

"As crowded as it is, the students are always polite," Durango High School Principal Elizabeth Fraser said.

A new high school set to open next fall will provide some relief for Durango's growing pains. The school has an estimated 3,300 students, and that number could grow as high as 3,400 to 3,450 students this year. The school's 1999-2000 capacity was 2,761.

Durango High School isn't alone in its battle of the bulging student population.

On the northwest side of town, Rhodes Elementary School is facing a student enrollment of about 1,300 and 20 portable classrooms. And the numbers could continue to grow from there.

In 1999-2000, Rhodes Elementary's year-round maximum capacity was 839 students.

Fowler said new teachers were hired to keep the school's student-to-teacher ratio the same. But the sheer volume of students creates more wear and tear on the facility, he said.

Rhonda Aviles, president of the Rhodes Elementary Parent Teacher Association, said parents have concerns about the portable classrooms taking up play space on school grounds.

Outdoor play area was lost because of the 20 portable classrooms sitting on the blacktop. One portable classroom unit is covering part of a map of the United States that was painted on the play area.

The PTA also is concerned about safety. The portable classrooms are disjointed from the main campus and are difficult to keep an eye on.

In order to address safety concerns, the district provided the school with an outdoor monitor to patrol the portable classrooms.

"The district has been responsive and we do appreciate that," Fowler said.

Two new elementary schools are being built near Rhodes Elementary over the next two years, but some are questioning whether that will be enough. According to the PTA's study, some 29 housing developments are being constructed in Rhodes' attendance zone.

In yet another attempt to keep up with growth, the district is opening four elementary schools during the school year. The schools were originally scheduled to open between 2001 and 2003.

Students of those new schools are currently being temporarily housed in portable classrooms. And the portable classrooms are set up on existing school sites.

"They wanted to have the schools established and the students already with their teachers and principals," Kim Vesely, a spokeswoman for the school district's facilities division, said. "Now all they have to do is move into their new buildings."

The new schools, followed by the sites they are located on are: