Editorial: School must come first

Saturday, April 22, 2006 | 7:27 a.m.

We were pleased to see this week that the Henderson City Council voted 5-0 to allow construction to proceed on what will one day be Smalley Elementary School, expected to open in time for the 2007-08 academic year. The school, which will be built at the northeast corner of Paradise Hills Drive and Greenway Road, will ease overcrowding at Walker International Elementary School.

Residents in the Las Vegas Valley, particularly those with young children, usually want elementary schools built near their homes - but that wasn't the case for some residents who live near the proposed school. These residents, some of whom own horses, were upset because they live in an area protected by a rural preservation ordinance.

Paradise Hills is a collection of custom homes on large lots that have access to equestrian trails. They were concerned that all the infrastructure and traffic that a school brings would disturb their quality of life.

But, as we noted in a previous editorial, a rural preservation district designation should not mean that essential services - such as schools and fire stations - are precluded from being built in these areas if they are warranted.

The Las Vegas Valley is continually growing and changing, and those who live in rural preservation districts should not hold veto power over the basic needs of other residents.

That doesn't mean, however, that rural preservation districts should be ignored. As much as possible, local governments should try to maintain much of what has made these areas special and what drew these residents to move there in the first place. We have to say that the Clark County School District went well beyond what was required in making some neighborly concessions.

As Emily Richmond reported in the Sun this week, when students register at the new school, the paperwork they receive will contain a stern warning that students must not disturb horses on their way to and from school. Additionally, the School District agreed to help pay for costs incurred by horse owners if they have to move their horses temporarily during the construction of the school.

Further, the equestrian trail and the farthest point of the school's property will be about 40 feet apart and will be separated by both fencing and landscaping.

This likely won't be the last dispute involving new schools that conflict with rural preservation districts. But the bottom line is that the requirement that children receive a quality education - one in which they're not packed into classrooms like sardines - should remain paramount.