Middle school plans back on track

Friday, Feb. 25, 2005 | 10 a.m.

The Clark County School District's plans for a new middle school in North Las Vegas appear to be back on track two months after the city rejected the proposal.

The district has apparently overcome opposition from residents concerned about traffic and parking near the proposed school at the southwest corner of Tropical Parkway and Lawrence Street. No one spoke against the latest district proposal during a Wednesday meeting of the North Las Vegas Planning Commission. The commission unanimously approved the school.

Residents have until 5:45 p.m. Wednesday to appeal the commission's decision to the City Council or the school project will go forward. The Planning Commission voted 6-1 in October in favor of the school, only to have the City Council overturn the decision by a 4-1 vote at its Dec. 15 meeting when several residents complained.

Mayor Mike Montandon, who backed the project in December, said he doesn't want to predict what will happen but called it a good sign no one spoke against the project.

"That is great news for the school district," Montandon said. "They take a lot of grief, but look at the speed they have to work with. It is great they are working with the community."

The council's review was prompted by neighborhood resident Scott Sauer who opposed the district's placement of a bus pickup and drop off on El Campo Grande Avenue. On Thursday, Sauer declined to say what it will do. He said he won't review the commission's decision until next week.

Residents said the El Campo Grande Avenue bus pickup would generate additional traffic and parking problems for residents whose homes face the school. Sauer said he was more worried about parents dropping off and picking up their children on the south side of the school.

The district amended its plans and moved the bus drop off from the south side of the campus to the north side along Tropical Parkway where the rear of homes are buffered by a block wall, officials said.

The school will also build a 4-foot wall along El Campo Grande Avenue with a guardrail above it to discourage parents from dropping off their children along the street, said Marc Jordan, the planning manager for North Las Vegas. The district also plans extensive landscaping with trees on the south side.

Parents will drop off their children at the front entrance of the school along Lawrence Avenue where no homes have been built, officials said.

The district, however, didn't abide by the suggestion of some residents and council members who called for the school to construct buildings closer to Tropical Parkway and place athletic fields on the south side closer to their homes. School officials said that would have delayed the project for a year, coming at a time when more classroom space will be needed to relieve overcrowding.

Plans call for the school, which will have a capacity to handle 1,700 students, to open in August 2006.

Dusty Dickens, the district's director of zoning, demographics and real property, said meeting with residents and incorporating their suggestions has made the difference. The district has owned the property for five to six years, she said.

"We have been out there meeting with the community, and I feel comfortable with it at this time," Dickens said.

The Carroll M. Johnston Middle School, named after a former district administrator who served as principal of Green Valley High School, will have five buildings clustered around a courtyard on the 18-acre site.

There are also plans for a soccer field, two softball fields, four tennis courts, four basketball courts and four volleyball courts. There will be parking for 125 vehicles and unloading zones for 20 buses.