High school near orchard receives Arbor View name

Thursday, Dec. 9, 2004 | 9:10 a.m.

A name has been chosen for a new campus set to open in August adjacent to the historic Gilcrease Orchards in northwest Las Vegas -- Arbor View High School.

The Clark County School Board is slated to approve the name when it meets tonight.

Two other names -- Orchard Grove and Orchard Crest -- were submitted but ultimately rejected by the school names advisory committee, made up of three School Board members, a representative from the district's staff and an appointed citizen.

The list of three names were submitted after a series of community meetings to gather suggestions from students and area residents, said Sue DeFrancesco, assistant superintendent of the Clark County School District's northwest region.

The district purchased the 36-acre parcel at Grand Teton Way and Buffalo Drive from Ted and Bill Gilcrease in 2001 for $2.7 million with the understanding that the property would become a high school. Ted Gilcrease, whose family began farming the land more than 80 years ago, managed the orchard up until his death last year at age 87. Bill Gilcrease, 84, founded the wildlife sanctuary adjacent to the orchard where more than 1,800 rescued birds and animals reside.

A small group of neighbors fought the high school's construction, saying the accompanying traffic and pollution would ruin the rural atmosphere of the surrounding community. An attempt to thwart the district's plans through legal action failed.

There were suggestions from the community to name the high school after the Gilcrease brothers. But district regulations allow only elementary and middle schools to be named after individuals -- typically educators, pioneers or prominent citizens.

High schools are given names that reflect the locality or geographic region. An exception was made for Liberty High School in 2001, after students persuaded the School Board that the name was appropriate to commemorate the events of Sept. 11.

Patricia Gorlick, who bought her home in the Lamplight Estates development because of its proximity to the orchard and opposed the construction of the new high school, said it may be for the best if the campus doesn't bear the Gilcrease name.

"The orchard is going to die over time because of the heat from the school, the exhaust from all the cars and the fertilizer they're going to use," Gorlick said. "I'd hate to see the school named after the orchard it killed."

Patrick Hayden, who was named last week to serve as the first principal of the high school, is no stranger to zoning controversies. He is currently principal of Leavitt Middle School, which opened months behind schedule in 2001 after neighbors filed suit to block the rezoning of what was a rural preservation area.

In the ensuing years Leavitt has built "a good relationship" with the neighborhood, Hayden said. He hopes to have similar success in his new assignment.

"A school is a partnership with the community," Hayden said. "We'll be the eyes during the day and we certainly hope the neighbors will be our watchdogs in the evenings on weekends and during holidays."

Hayden, whose tenure as the high school's principal begins Jan. 15, said he planned to meet with students and teachers to discuss naming the school's science wing after the Gilcrease brothers.

Gorlick said the high school being built appears "much bigger" than what was promised by school district officials at a series of community meetings. But Matt LaCroix, assistant director of real property management for the district, said the project has not veered from the two-story, mall style prototype approved by the School Board and the county.

The design calls for 232,206 square feet with capacity for 2,700 students.

LaCroix said he understood the concerns of area residents but noted the district's ever-growing student enrollment has put classroom seats at a premium.

"We're doing the very best we can just to keep up," LaCroix said. "There's probably always going to be people unhappy with a school's location, but what's our alternative?"