Schools panel looks at extracurricular events

By Emily Richmond

Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2004 | 8:43 a.m.

The fourth school forum, to discuss parental involvement, will be held 7 p.m to 9 p.m. today at Hollingsworth Elementary School, 1776 E. Ogden Ave., Las Vegas.

"The guys on the basketball team said 'Black guys don't ski,' -- so I did,' " Horne, a 1980 graduate, told an audience Monday at a community forum on extracurricular actitivies sponsored by the Clark County School Board.

"Extra-curricular activities are a part of the educational experience ... It's important for socialization, and it teaches our children to get along," Horne said.

Horne, along with community activists, retired educators and representatives from the business community, participated on a panel selected by the School Board to address the issue of extacurricular activities.

Since 2001 the School Board has cut more than $90 million from its annual operating budget -- $1.6 billion for the current fiscal year. About $6.5 million was spent on extra-curricular activities last year, according to the budget office.

Preserving extra-curricular activities has been a hard-fought struggle, School Board President Susan Brager-Wellman said.

There have been some victories, Brager-Wellman said.

"In many states music is going away, but here it's staying -- and here it's growing," Brager-Wellman said. "We're very proud of that fact."

Last year 68,000 students, or 25 percent of the district's students, participated in extra-curricular activities, according to school district records.

The district needs to make the most of its public-private partnerships and turn schools into de facto community centers, said panelist Merlinda Gallegos, of the Chung Yin Tang Foundation, a private organization that promotes education, public health and civil engagement. The focus should be on establishing long-term relationships, rather than seeking out short-term grants that expire and leave the district scrambling for funds to continue programs, Gallegos said.

Malesia Britt, a junior at Durango High School, told the panel there's a direct connection between participation in activities such as athletics and student achievement.

"It's an extra way to get people to want to go to college because they want to take their sport to the next level," said Britt, a track and field athlete who competes in shotput and distance running. "And it makes you focus more on school because if you don't get the grades you don't get to play."

The district's middle school athletics program has been trimmed to a single sport -- basketball. Becky Hill, whose son is a sixth grader at Lawrence, said she was still waiting for word about a promised after-school homework club at the campus.

"It's been three weeks (since the start of the school year) and we haven't heard anything," Hill said. "I know a lot of parents who are worried about how they're going to keep their kids occupied so they're not wandering the streets all afternoon."

Research has shown the most dangerous time of the day for children and young adults are the after-school hours, said Steve Hill, chairman of the board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas. Extra-curricular activities not only direct students away from trouble but may also help keep them in school, Hill said.

"We all know we have very large schools -- it's very easy for our kids to get lost," Hill told the audience. "If they can find a mentor to latch onto it gives them a sense of a belonging."

The wounds are still fresh from the last legislative session's scorching battle over education funding, Horne said. But that doesn't make the opportunity for extra-curricular activities any less valid today, Horne said.

"I had it, my parents had it," Horne said. "Why would we offer our chlidren any less than what we had?"