School of arts looks for new home

By Christina Littlefield

Friday, July 30, 2004 | 9:36 a.m.

A space crunch at the Las Vegas Academy has pushed nearly 600 students and faculty members of the private Nevada School of the Arts out of their studios at the downtown public high school.

The private, nonprofit artist education center used the space at Seventh Street and Bridger Avenue for free for the past 10 years through a partnership with the Clark County School District, Dean Paul Hesselink said.

In exchange, the Nevada School of the Arts provided students at the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts free access to many of their cultural offerings and music lessons.

"It was a good fit for both of us," Hesselink said. "So we are kind of sorry to see that partnership end."

The arts school began moving this morning to make way for the academy's new programs, including classes in Hispanic folkloric dance, Mariachi music and broadcast journalism.

The arts school has yet to find a permanent home.

Hesselink and the art school's trustees found a temporary commercial location at the 11th hour Thursday morning to house the school's pianos and other equipment but they are still scrambling to find a permanent location with a rent they can afford. Their only two possibilities fell through earlier this week, leaders said.

The temporary location will allow them to maintain some of their current offerings, but most of the classes will be farmed out to private homes, Hesselink said.

Luckily, most classes are on a summer hiatus right now so none of the current students are being affected yet, teachers said.

The school, which offers instruction in music, art and theater to about 550 students ages 3 to 94, needs at least 2,000 square feet in a central Las Vegas location that will hold a large classroom, offices and at least four rooms for private instruction, Hesselink said.

Having a centralized location is key to maintaining the school's mission of providing quality education and opportunities for creative expression to all valley residents, especially those who cannot otherwise afford the private lessons in music and art the school offers, Hesselink said.

School leaders also said they need to find a building they can afford to stay in.

Before this summer, all fund-raising for the school went to providing merit and need-based scholarships to the at-risk students the school serves, Fran Fine, chairwoman of the school's Board of Trustees, said. In the 27 years since the school's founding in July 1977, it has never had to pay rent.

The school started at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas as part of a music outreach program, and when space became tight there in the early 1990s, it moved for three years to Paradise Elementary School. It moved to Las Vegas Academy when that school opened on the old Las Vegas High School campus in 1994.

"We never had a line item in our budget for rent and now we have a reality check," Fine said. "It's probably our own fault that we never thought and looked ahead. We just kept plodding along and helping kids."

When the school found out in May that they would have to move, Fine said she sent out 2,200 letters at her own expense to every student and every donor the school has ever had to try to raise money. She said she has raised enough for at least three months rent, which will give her some time to find something more permanent.

"Right now we have been working on emergency mode," Fine said.

Eva White, assistant superintendent for the Clark County School District's east region, said the academy is just as sad to see the school move, but that there wasn't any other choice in the current space crunch.

But in addition to the three new programs, several of the academy's employees did not have office space, White said, including one of the school psychologists and the computer technician. The school also lost previous classroom space because of renovations.

"There are just so many things that are going on in the school right now that allows them not to have additional space to expand," White said.

None of the academy's administrators could be reached for comment because the high school is closed until Monday for summer break.

School District employees have been working with the Nevada School of the Arts to help them find a new location, and are helping them move today, both White and Hesselink said.

"They've (the academy) been such a gracious host for the last 11 years," Fine said. "They've given us the greatest gift of helping us help kids do their best and be all they can be.

"Now we need to find another gift," Fine said. "We need an angel."