Editorial: Doing lunch, or not

Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2005 | 8:09 a.m.

No one at Eldorado High School was to blame last year as overcrowding in the cafeteria finally became so insufferable that students and their parents were seething. Principal Richard Carranza could have thrown up his hands and asked what he, one person, was supposed to do about 70,000 people a year moving to Las Vegas? Or he could have set up a rotating lunch schedule that would have required more staff time than classes do. Or he could have hit upon an inventive solution.

He chose the latter, and we believe the school, which is over its capacity by 700 students, is the better for it. His solution isn't perfect, but that's because the Clark County School District is not in a financial position to build perfect schools.

But when you have parents calling the fire department on rainy days, knowing that the multiuse cafeteria would be so packed that the fire code would be violated, a decision, however imperfect, has to be made.

Carranza decided to schedule lunch as the last period of the school day, which means it begins at 12:40 p.m. (classes start at 7 a.m.). His decision gives students the option of staying for lunch or ending their school day and leaving campus.

Statistics compiled last month show that the number of lunches now being served is about 30 percent less than a year ago. Cafeteria overcrowding at lunchtime has been considerably eased. At the same, there are 2 1/2 times as many students showing up for breakfast, perhaps to compensate for eating a later lunch. School officials say the increase in breakfast servings has been noticeable in the classroom, with students being better behaved and more attentive.

It's unfortunate that Carranza was put in the position of having to make such an unconventional decision. But with more than 12,000 students entering Clark County schools every year, this is an unconventional district. The School Board has long rejected the idea of "megaschools." These would accommodate between 3,000 and 5,000 students, enough to end overcrowding at first thought. But a megaschool, given a finite school-construction budget, would have to suffice for two or three smaller schools and draw students from a much larger zone, meaning it could itself soon be overcrowded and transportation costs would skyrocket. A megaschool would also be detrimental to students, as they would receive far less personal attention.

Building bigger cafeterias has never been seen as the answer, either, for two reasons -- cost, and the question of how to safely supervise more than 1,000 students in one room.

In our view, the best hope for ending school overcrowding is for voters to continue supporting district bond issues, so that 12 to 14 new, appropriately sized schools can open every year. In February the school district announced that the next bond issue is tentatively set for 2008 in the amount of $3.5 billion. Future students deserve the community's full support.