Editorial: Now make old schools a priority

Thursday, Jan. 2, 2003 | 8:28 a.m.

Since voters approved a $3.5 billion bond issue in 1998 for new construction and renovations, the Clark County School District has made building new schools its top priority. Badly needed renovations to older schools were put on the back burner. The reasoning was explained earlier this year by Walt Rulffes, the deputy superintendent for finances: "We had to deal with all of the students who had no classrooms before we could fix up the schools we already had." The strategy is understandable in light of the district's growth, from about 191,000 students in 1998 to about 255,000 students today. Projections show an enrollment of 400,000-plus by 2012. Four years into a 10-year program to build 88 new schools, the district is breaking ground on about one school a month, but even that pace isn't fast enough and overcrowding remains a problem.

Given those inescapable statistics we cannot argue with the district's decision to make new-school construction its No. 1 priority. Now, however, with the building program up and running and even a bit ahead of schedule, it's time for the program addressing renovations to receive equal priority. Assemblyman Wendell Williams, who chairs the Assembly Education Committee, summed up the importance of a stepped-up renovations program: "A person moves to a new development here today and their kids automatically go to a new school. Then across town you have kids stuck in falling-down buildings even though their parents are the ones who have been here, paying taxes, for years."

A national study released this week also supports the argument for an aggressive renovations program. The National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities found that good lighting, proper ventilation and comfortable classroom temperature have positive effects on learning and attendance. School Board member Mary Beth Scow says that making older schools equal to newer schools is "absolutely a priority." That's one New Year's resolution that should be kept.