Schools beat the schedule

Thursday, Aug. 15, 2002 | 9:02 a.m.

The Aug. 26 opening of nine new campuses will be ahead of schedule and under budget -- what more could critics of the Clark County School District's building program want, Superintendent Carlos Garcia asked Wednesday.

Of the seven elementary schools opening later this month, five are two years ahead of schedule and both middle schools are one year ahead of schedule, Garcia said. Additionally, by refinancing the district's bonds -- given a top rating from Standard and Poor's -- more than $30 million in taxpayers' money has been saved, Garcia said.

"I'd like to know where our critics are today," Garcia said as he presided over a kickoff celebration at the Las Vegas Convention Center. "I wish they were right here, so they could see for themselves the wonderful things we're accomplishing."

One of the School District's most vocal critics was in fact there -- Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-Las Vegas, for whom one of the new elementary schools is named. Williams said while he is always glad to celebrate new opportunities for children, he still wasn't satisfied with the district's level of fiscal accountability.

Williams, along with some contractors and construction unions, has called for an independent audit of the district's $3.5 billion capital improvement plan, approved by voters in 1998.

"I have concerns about spending, and why there aren't as many new buildings going up in certain neighborhoods," Williams said. "I'm not going to knock the progress (the district) has made, but I will say we still have a long way to go."

School Board President Sheila Moulton said the district is meeting its mandate to serve the children of Clark County.

"Our goal is that every student have the skills and knowledge to succeed in life, and be responsible citizens," Moulton said.

The new campuses all have energy-saving features such as solar panels and motion-activated lighting. The improved designs will mean cheaper power bills, district officials said.

Opening a new school is considered a plum assignment for a principal, and often a reward for years of outstanding service. Alan Bowman, principal of the new J. Marlan Walker Elementary School in Henderson, said he's thrilled to not only be opening a new campus, but to be running the district's first Spanish-immersion kindergarten. The program will be expanded to include first grade students in 2003-04, with successive grades being added at one-year intervals.

English-speaking students will study Spanish with the aim of proficiency by third grade, Bowman said. In addition to English and Spanish, the school hopes to later add programs in either Mandarin or Japanese, Bowman said.

Two of the new elementary schools are replacing campuses -- Williams Elementary School and Adcock Elementary School. Adcock will open the first quarter of 2003, district officials said.

The projected enrollment for the coming school year is 258,000 students, securing Clark County's position as the nation's sixth-largest school district.

The celebration included introductions of the new school principals and performances by the Durango High School cheerleading squad and the Becker Middle School dance team.