Spring Valley school approved

Thursday, Sept. 6, 2001 | 11:31 a.m.

Clark County needs schools.

That was the message sent Wednesday by Clark County commissioners, who combatively rejected pleas from Spring Valley residents to keep a new high school out of their neighborhood. They approved the high school by a 6-0 vote.

About a dozen residents spoke against the 2,700-student school and an accompanying park, slated to open in 2003 at Buffalo Drive and Twain Avenue. About two dozen more residents sat in the commission chambers to hear the protests.

The themes were familiar to anyone who has heard similar protests in recent years against proposed schools: residents said they feared heavy traffic, graffiti and trash, late-night lights and deteriorating property values because of the school.

They also said a nearby gravel pit could be a hazard to teenagers.

"People could be disturbed very early in the morning ... . A game of dare or double dare, who knows what could happen?" asked Lillian Patero, who lives next to the proposed 43-acre high school campus and 33-acre park.

Tearfully, Patero said that if the school is approved, she would be "mourning the death of our community because of this school."

Betty Gavere, another nearby resident, agreed. Most in the community "are retired and aged in the upper 60s, 70s and 80s, even into their 90s," she said.

"We cannot emotionally, physically nor mentally cope with large groups of children, certainly not today's high school children," Gavere said. "They have no respect for themselves; other people, especially older citizens; personal or commercial properties."

Those opposed to the project said they weren't properly notified by the county's planning department or the Clark County School District that the project was coming.

School opponents expressed the same concerns at last week's meeting of the Spring Valley Town Advisory Board, which recommended denial of zoning amendments the school district needed for the school.

After conferring with county staff, Commissioners Erin Kenny and Myrna Williams said they believed the agencies met the notification requirements. The issue prompted catcalls from some school opponents and angry retorts from commissioners, particularly Williams.

But the main thrust of the arguments against the school is that the students would be bad for the neighborhood. Williams said she found that perspective disheartening.

She said commission zoning meetings frequently find people "complaining about schools, parks and churches."

"We know that schools belong in neighborhoods. Parks belong in neighborhoods. Churches belong in neighborhoods," Williams said. "To suggest that schools are going to tear down neighborhoods is ridiculous."

Kenny said county commissioners have never rejected a proposed site for a public school, and she doesn't intend to go against a zoning request for a new one.

"We have to build schools. The notion that we shouldn't build schools where houses are and people are floors me."

Kenny, who represents the area, said people should be happy that the school is coming -- and that some residents, largely unrepresented at the zoning meeting, want the campus.

She said the new high school, which would be adjacent to tree farms and plant nurseries, would be "a new kind of school, where we allow students to explore something that is not entirely traditional."

"This is perhaps going to be a landmark educational facility, certainly in the state and perhaps in the country," Kenny said.

School district staffers have said the school is sorely needed, one of at least 92 that the system will build in the next few years. Three nearby high schools are already overcrowded, with classes being held in portable trailers.

One resident spoke for the project: Carolyn Edwards, a parent-volunteer with the school system.

"A school is desperately needed in this area," Edwards said.

Matthew LaCroix, assistant zoning director for the schools, said that the school system has met three times with area residents, and has worked with them to minimize the impact on the neighborhood.